Childhood, rank and spontaneity · Growing up under the gaze of painters

From court children to modern scenes, Gainsborough, Lawrence, Velazquez and Cassatt show the childhood between social representation and freedom of gesture.

The child's portrait changes depending on the era and the environment. In Les Ménines, Infanta Marguerite occupies the center of a court scene where her status can be read in costume, surroundings and royal space. Gainsborough's The Blue Boy transforms a young model into a ceremonial figure thanks to blue satin, pose and landscape. Thomas Lawrence's Pinkie combines wind movement, light dress and horizon to produce lighter elegance. Mary Cassatt breaks with solemnity in Little Girl in a Blue Armchair: the child sags, occupies the space in her own way and refuses conventional pose. These works show how childhood gradually moves from family or dynastic symbol to the observation of an autonomous personality. The "Portraits of Children" selection notably compares Les Ménines - Diego Velázquez and The Blue Boy - Thomas Gainsborough. His reading favors movement.

The best portrait of a child reveals two temporalities at the same time: the place that adults give it and the movement by which it escapes them.