1869 (ca.), Edgar Degas, At the Races in the Countryside -- National Gallery of Art (Washington) (special exhibition)
From the museum label:
Société Anonyme 1874, no. 63
Degas was fascinated by the contemporary craze for horse racing, a dramatic spectator sport imported from England.
The artist produced a large body of racing pictures. This one includes two sprinting riders and several onlookers scattered in the distance.
The main subject, however, is not the competition itself but instead an intimate moment. A small, open carriage has pulled away from the main event so a wet nurse may breastfeed a now-slumbering child. The baby's mother hovers nearby, shielding the nurse and infant with a parasol. While it was a common practice among well-off people to hire a wet nurse, the female-centered subject of breastfeeding was highly unconventional in art. This painting would never have been selected for display at the Salon.
1869 (ca.), Edgar Degas, At the Races in the Countryside -- National Gallery of Art (Washington) (special exhibition)
From the museum label:
Société Anonyme 1874, no. 63
Degas was fascinated by the contemporary craze for horse racing, a dramatic spectator sport imported from England.
The artist produced a large body of racing pictures. This one includes two sprinting riders and several onlookers scattered in the distance.
The main subject, however, is not the competition itself but instead an intimate moment. A small, open carriage has pulled away from the main event so a wet nurse may breastfeed a now-slumbering child. The baby's mother hovers nearby, shielding the nurse and infant with a parasol. While it was a common practice among well-off people to hire a wet nurse, the female-centered subject of breastfeeding was highly unconventional in art. This painting would never have been selected for display at the Salon.