Charles Angrand (1854-1926)

François Lespinasse has confirmed the authenticity of this work.

Angrand treated the subject of the mother and child on a number of occasions, concentrating on its essence and eliminating all superfluous detail. Two further finished Maternité are today in the Musée d'Art Moderne - Petit Palais, Geneva (8045; 8046). By defining the forms through a highly nuanced gradation from deep black areas to extremely bright ones using just the white of the paper and avoiding any lines, Angrand employed the same technique as Seurat, a close friend, following in the tradition of both Millet's drawings and Redon's noirs. Angrand often used relatives as models for figures in his drawings. He often depicted his sister-in-law, the wife of his younger brother, with their child Antoine.