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The Unwed Mother

Image credit: Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives

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At the beginning of the twentieth century Jean Louis Forain moved away from the bright colours and naturalistic lighting of his Impressionist period. In this mature work his colours are sombre and the lighting dramatic. He was also painting a new subject: the French law courts and the ordinary people caught up in a complex legal system. Here his sympathies are clearly with the unmarried mother whose anguish is contrasted with the bored lawyers in the foreground.

Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

Bristol

Title

The Unwed Mother

Date

1909

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 61 x W 73.7 cm

Accession number

K2886

Acquisition method

purchased with the assistance of the Art Fund, 1963

Work type

Painting

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Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

Queens Road, Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RL England

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