With Reference to the French 'enlightenment' notions on femininity masculinity and the family, describe the ways in which ideals of family, mother - and fatherhood, were articulated in French painting and graphic arts in the decades between c. 1750 and 17

Etienne Aubry’s ‘Farewell to the wet nurse’ (1780) argues the importance of close ties between parent and child, as well as the importance of a child’s environment in its upbringing, in accordance to the new enlightenment notions on family and motherhood. The idea of wet nursing was becoming increasingly frowned upon during that time. An analysis on the ‘education of children’ written in 1762, stated that it was ‘nature’ that had decided that it was the mothers duty to breast-feed their children. The painting depicts the child’s obvious anguish of leaving the caring rural environment from the first few years of its life, thus showing the risks of the detachment of the child from its true parents – arguing that it is perhaps better to nurse ones own children to build a stable parental relationship.

The spectator of the painting is drawn into the narrative by the focal point placed at the exact centre of the painting - the child’s tearful face. Ethical issues are raised as one question what good mothering is, as the real parents seem somewhat detached in comparison to the concern of the substitute parents. Despite this first impression however, Harry C. Payne argues that there  are deeper more subtle symbols in the painting that give a sense that a natural order is being restored as the child is handed back to its mother. The setting from which the child is leaving its rural life style is aptly placed on a pathway, leading to a great sense of transition in the painting. The future, represented on the left hand side of the painting is bright, with the donkeys head and the father’s body facing towards it, and the child’s past, on the right hand side of the painting is darker and less defined. The cottage is blurred and the cow ‘symbolic of the recent past’ ambles past towards it. Even though the mother seems apparently aloof to the situation and the despair of her child, there is no sense of foreboding for the child’s future. The mothers pose is reminiscent of the Virgin Mary on the donkey as she travelled to Jerusalem. This divine symbology of the Virgin can be furthered through the pallet of her jacket, a deep blue. Her facial expression is also comforting in its tranquillity.

Contrasting to the mother, in the scene, the father shows less emotional involvement. He is separate from the small group not only by physical distance, but by his detached attitude expressed in his body language. He faces away from the group, looking over his shoulder with an aloof expression on his face. However, in direct comparison to the father, the husband of the wet-nurse is far more emotionally involved in the scene. He leans forward with his hands clasped and a concerned expression on his face. He shows much more of a paternal instinct than the child’s actual father. In a sense Aubry is arguing that upbringing means more than ‘simple blood ties’ as the child is turning towards the more loving couple. From an enlightenment perspective, the emphasis on the mother and maternal love shows how the mother was considered the more important role player in a child’s upbringing, Aubry is arguing for the importance of a paternal role a child’s life.**

This painting differs to the common representations of breast-feeding of the time. Many 18th century French lithographs of the time depict wet nursing in more suburban environments, which had a bad reputation for its high infant mortality rate. In ‘Farewell to the Wet Nurse’ however the rural setting seems to have benefited the child who is obviously healthy. Despite the apparent concern of the wet nurse towards the child she is a professional whose employment has terminated. Aubry seems to be arguing that ultimately no matter what bonds have been built between the wet nurse and the child, the bond between a mother and her child is far more important.

Slightly less complex than Aubry, Greuze offered a vision of domestic bliss in his painting ‘The Well Beloved Mother’ (1765). It acts as a good comparison to ‘Farewell to the wet nurse’ as it shows a more natural maternal relationship which suggests that the mother has breast-fed her six children.

The scene shows us the male of the house, throwing his hands up in delight as he walks into the room. His masculinity is emphasised by the gun he holds in his right hand indicating that he has just returned from hunting, a stereotypically male activity. Our line of sight follows his, drawn across by the drapery, to the happy domestic scene of his wife and children. The family portrait was commissioned by Madame de Nettine, who is seated at the centre of the scene. Despite this, the mother remains the most important character in the picture, even the dogs are affected by the familial love, as they are all (including Madame de Netinne) facing towards the mother.

Despite the fact that the family depicted was one of the richest of the time, there is a distinct rural theme to the painting, similar to  Aubry’s ‘Farewell to the wet nurse.’ Thee fact that the scene is slightly countrified shows a healthy environment for the upbringing of the children. There is an emphasis that the family ‘enjoy(s) a rich emotional satisfaction, centering on the delights of motherhood.’ Greuze puts this message across by making the painting visually pleasing; though through this he is communicating vital ‘moral issues’. Carol Duncan explains how he portrays the importance of family life, showing that the mother and father are happy due to the fact that they are simply parents, and united in a ‘blissful conjugal union.’ ***

Another family portrait that demonstrates how the ideals of the enlightenment had spread throughout the bourgeoisie is a portrait by the female artist Marie-Louise-Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun of ‘Marie-Antoinette with her Children’ (1787). Unlike the ‘The Well Beloved Mother’ the family portrait is far more formal, and we are addressed by the subjects as directly as if they were sitting for us. They are positioned exactly, dressed in impressive clothing and look straight out of the painting. The formality of the painting, however, does not disguise the fact that even the Queen Marie-Antoinette wanted to be portrayed in the role of happy motherhood, surrounded by her children, as was fitting to the fashionable opinions of the time. Unlike the other paintings mentioned so far this painting has no narrative or symbology, however according to Philip Conisbee it still contains a ‘touch of Greuzian sentiment’ even though it is a more bourgeoisie portrayal of family life. One thing to note however, despite the familial unity, the son of Marie-Antoinette is slightly detached from the group. The fundamental differences of men and women were still in place, unlike her daughters, the son was the heir to the family fortune and would one day take his fathers place as the head of the family.**

Marie-Antoinette often sat for Vigée-Lebrun, who, unlike Greuze focused on making complimentary portrayals of her subjects rather than making statements about moral issues of the time. However she did use ideals of the time to her advantage. Her ‘Self portrait of the Artist with her Daughter’ (1788) 

depicts herself in a patriarchal ideology where she is showing off her ‘skills as a portraitist and a successful mother.’ This is amplified by the fact that the father is absent in the painting, showing her independence as a woman. Vigée-Lebrun is an interesting subject, she embodied the bourgeoisie ideals of motherhood, but, at the same time was one of the new generation of independent women that came out of the revolution. She was a vehement feminist and put her job as an artist ahead of her job as a mother, in her memoirs she complains that he imminent pregnancies interfered with her sittings! Despite the notions on motherhood at the time, which encouraged women to be at home and care for their families, she managed to maintain a family life and a professional career.  

As much as motherhood was deemed extremely central to a child’s upbringing, enlightenment thinkers campaigned for the involvement of both parents. Parents who saw their children as a means to further their fortunes, and treated them with indifference were seen as immoral. There was a ‘promotion of… the idea of childhood as a unique phase of human growth and that of the family as an intimate and harmonious social unit.’ Therefore portrayals fatherhood was just as important as it completed the family unit.  

Greuze’s art works described by Diderot as ‘dramatic poetry that touches our feelings, instruct us, improves us and invites us into virtuous action’ this influence was imitated by many other artists. Including Aubry, his painting ‘Fatherly Love’ (1775) (like ‘Farewell to the wet nurse’) has similar principles to the works of Greuze, however according to Conisbee they are more naturalistic. Unlike the aforementioned paintings the father is the main character, as he is the focus and movement of the painting, as he bends down to pick up his son. Three generations of men in the family are featured, so we see two different types of fatherly love, and two different relationships. The grandfather looks down in approval at his son picking up his own child. In consideration of anterior family relationships there is a possibility that the grandfather did not pay as much attention to his son. His contented expression indicates that he approves of this new style of parenting.

The couple are shown on an equal level in the painting, showing a loving balanced relationship towards their children. The mother is still strategically central to the painting, reminding us that the mother is the most important member of the family. But Aubry is ‘advancing a new ideal of life’ showing how a balance, how love from both parents provides a better environment for the child to grow up in.

The 18th century started seeing the morals of the ‘old order’ as increasingly immoral, and new beliefs that ones childhood was directly linked to the psychological makeup of an adult made enlightenment believers campaign for a more united family life style. As a result marriage was regarded as ‘the happiest, the most civilised, and the most natural of states, the institution that could best satisfy and conciliate social and individual needs,’ and more time was dedicated to the upbringing of ones children. Femininity and motherhood became a sacred and central theme in familial representation. Enlightenment artists, primarily Greuze and Aubry, campaigned for the promotion of these ideals, thus portraying them in their post revolutionary art works.  By making their artworks naturalistic and idealistic, these moral issues were put across to the public in an approachable way, so that they too would choose to adopt these morals and improve their family lives.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Calley Galitz, Kathryn - Nourishing the Body Politic: Images of Breast-Feeding in the French Salons, 1789-1814. In “Farewell to the Wet Nurse”: Etienne Aubry and Images of Breast-Feeding in Eighteenth-Century France. By Patricia R. Ivinski, Harry C. Payne, Kathryn Calley Galitz, Richard Rand. 1998.

Conisbee, Philip - Painting in 18th century France. Phaidon Oxford. 1981.

The memoirs of Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun – Translated by Sian Evans. Camden Press. 1989.

Crow, Thomas E. - Painters and Public Life in Eighteenth-Century Paris. Yale University Press. New Haven and London. 1985.

Doy, Gen - Women and the bourgeois Revolution of 1789: artists, artists, mothers, and makers of art history. In: (Edited by) Gill Perry, Michael Rossington. Femininity and masculinity in eighteenth-century art and culture. Manchester University Press. 1994.

Duncan, Carol - Happy mothers and Other New ideas. In Norma Broude, Mary Garrad: Feminism and Art History: Questioning the Litany. Harper and Row. 1982.

Lacquer, Thomas - Making sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud. Harvard University Press. 1992.

Payne, Harry C - Reading Etienne Aubry’s Farewell to the Wet Nurse. In “Farewell to the Wet Nurse”: Etienne Aubry and Images of Breast-Feeding in Eighteenth-Century France. By Patricia R. Ivinski, Harry C. Payne, Kathryn Calley Galitz, Richard Rand. 1998.

Winks, Robin – Europe: From the Old Regime to the Age of Revolution 1648-1815

 

---