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| Title | Le Reveil | |
| Collection | Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery | |
| Artist | Raffaëlli, Jean François (French painter, printmaker, and sculptor, 1850-1924) | |
| Date Earliest | about 1885 | |
| Date Latest | about 1895 | |
| Signed | yes | |
| Description | Raffaelli is perhaps best known for his detailed description of the Parisian industrial scene and his interest in the portrayal of social outcasts. In later life, his works became more picturesque with views of Paris and French seaports. Le Reveil (the awakening) at first appears to represent a charming domestic scene. However, it has Symbolist overtones as the title indicates deeper themes of awakening sexuality. The central placement of the figure gives the work an emblematic feel and lends a symbolic weight to the image. The dominance of white tones and the bed strewn with flowers also suggest purity, fragility and transience. Whistler's White Girl (1861) is a similarly symbolic treatment of domestic Impressionist subject matter. |
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| Current Accession Number | 1953P449 | |
| Former Accession Number | P.449´53 | |
| Inscription | front ll "J F RAFFAELLI" | |
| Subject | everyday life | |
| Measurements | 78.7 x 67.3 cm cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on canvas | |
| Acquisition Details | Purchased from Arthur Tooth & Sons 1953. | |
| Principal Exhibitions | Paris-Londres, Arthur Tooth & Sons Ltd, 1953, cat. no. 4; Nineteenth Century French Pictures, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery, Bournemouth, 1960, cat. no. 44; French Impressionism: Treasures of the Midlands, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, 1991, cat. no. 53; White Magic, The Lowry, 2005. | |
| Publications | Catalogue of Paintings in Birmingham City Museum and Art Gallery, 1960; Foreign Paintings in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, A Summary Catalogue, 1983, no. 119. | |
| Notes | A similar white-toned painting of the same young girl wearing the same nightgown with wild flowers seated on a bed was sold at Sotheby's, 22 November 1978, lot 90. | |
| Rights Owner | Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery | |
| Author | Dr Patricia Smyth | |