In the Dining Room

1886

Oil on canvas, 61.3 × 50 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington

A young maid in a dark dress and white apron stands in a dining room and looks straight out. Morisot paints the room around her in loose, rapid strokes.

A maid, not the family she serves, fills the picture in an ordinary working moment. Everyday modern life like this replaced history and myth as Impressionist subject matter.
Shown at the last Impressionist exhibition in 1886, listed as Petite servante (Little Servant).
A cabinet of white and silver pieces stands at left, a round table at right.
Look at the lower edge, where a small spotted dog runs past her feet.
Chester Dale's bequest brought it to the National Gallery of Art in 1963.

Paris households of Morisot's class kept live-in servants. They cooked, cleaned and waited at table.

Image: National Gallery of Art Open Access · CC0