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Notes

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A wealthy family enjoy coffee beside a fountain. The mother offers a spoon from her cup to her little daughter. The father sits beside them holding the tray while their servant pours coffee from the pot into his cup. The painting is more likely to be a genre scene than a portrait of a particular family as none of the figures shows any awareness of the viewer, as would be usual in a portrait. The painting used to be known as ‘La Tasse de Chocolat’ (‘The Cup of Chocolate’) until it was noticed that the pot is one generally used for serving coffee.

The sentiment the figures display, their solid positioning in space, the compositional balance between the triangle made by the family group and the circular form of the fountain and the play of strong colours across the picture’s surface make this one of Lancret’s most accomplished paintings.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

A Lady in a Garden taking Coffee with some Children

Date

probably 1742

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 88.9 x W 97.8 cm

Accession number

NG6422

Acquisition method

Bequeathed by Sir John Heathcoat Amory, with life interest to Lady Amory by whom presented, 1973

Work type

Painting

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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A Lady in a Garden taking Coffee with some Children

Nicolas Lancret (1690–1743)

The National Gallery, London

How you can use this image

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Notes

The National Gallery, London