Artwork
Kindly Martine
Kindly Martine is a chalk drawing by the Romanticist artist Pierre-Antoine Baudouin. It dates from 1764 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created around 1764, *Kindly Martine* is a drawing by French artist Pierre‑Antoine Baudouin executed in black chalk with touches of gray and brown wash. The work captures a brief, everyday scene with a light, informal tone characteristic of mid‑eighteenth‑century French drawing.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a woman in a flowing gown pouring liquid from a pitcher, attended by a boy in simple clothing who holds a tray. A sculptural bust rests on a pedestal behind them, while a few chickens peck at the ground, suggesting a domestic interior that blends genteel activity with modest, rural details.
Technique & Style
Baudouin employs rapid, loose chalk strokes, avoiding smooth gradations in favor of a sketchy surface. The gray and brown washes add modest tonal depth, while the background is rendered with rough, unfinished lines that hint at walls or ruins, emphasizing the immediacy of the drawing’s gesture.
History & Provenance
The piece reflects Baudouin’s artistic lineage, echoing the decorative elegance of his father‑in‑law, François Boucher, and the broader Rococo taste for delicate, expressive figures. Its creation during the 1760s places it within the period’s preference for refined yet informal studies.
Context
In the mid‑century French art world, drawings such as this served both as preparatory studies and as independent works that displayed an artist’s skill in rendering movement and character with minimal means. The inclusion of a bust and domestic animals situates the scene within a cultivated yet everyday environment.
Artist & collection
Artist
Pierre-Antoine Baudouin (French pronunciation: ; 17 October 1723 – 15 December 1769) was a French painter. He worked in the same Rococo style of his father-in-law, François Boucher.
