Dodge MacKnight (Providence, 1860 - 1950, Sandwich, Massachusetts)
A Little Girl of Douarnenez, 1889
Pastel on paper, 46 x 34 cm (18 1/8 x 13 3/8 in.)
This vertical pastel drawing is a portrait of a female child. The child is facing forward and looks out at the viewer. Wisps of hair along her forehead peek out from her blue cap and she wears a gold-colored shawl wrapped over a white top and blue skirt. She wears blue tights and tan clogs. The child’s hands are clasped loosely at her waist. There is light from an unknown source, as you can see a shadow of the child’s body on the background behind her, and another shadow on the ground between and to your right of her feet. The background consists of gold lines, both vertical and horizontal, over a blue background. Deeper blue and brown lines denote where the background meets the ground. The ground is colored in browns and with blue. Below the girl’s skirt, to the viewer’s right, is the artist’s signature in ochre ink.
Macknight Room
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.