Artwork
Kolme sulotarta
Kolme sulotarta is an unspecified painting by Jean Jacques Lagrenée nuorempi / den yngre / the Younger. It is held in the collection of the Finnish National Gallery.
About this work
Overview
The work titled “Kolme sulotarta” depicts an intimate interior scene in which two women recline on a bed covered with a red drapery. A small child is assisted to a standing position by one of the women, while another child kneels nearby. The composition is populated by several diminutive winged figures, or putti, who hover in the surrounding space, adding a subtle narrative layer.
Subject & Meaning
The central focus on the women and children suggests a domestic or maternal theme, emphasizing care and nurturing. The presence of the putti, traditionally symbols of innocence and playfulness, reinforces a sense of gentle observation, contrasting the adult figures’ responsibilities with the youthful, ethereal qualities of the floating attendants.
Technique & Style
The painting employs a soft, diffused lighting scheme that creates a contrast between deep shadows and luminous highlights, imparting a dreamlike atmosphere. The rendering of the red fabric and flesh tones is rendered with delicate brushwork, while the putti are delineated with finer, almost transparent strokes, enhancing their airy, floating appearance.
Context
The inclusion of multiple putti aligns the work with a longstanding artistic convention in which these cherubic figures serve as decorative and symbolic elements. Their role here extends beyond ornamentation, contributing to the overall composition by linking the human subjects to a broader iconographic tradition of representing innocence within domestic scenes.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jean Jacques Lagrenée nuorempi / den yngre / the Younger
Jean-Jacques Lagrenée the Younger wasn’t above a good scandal—he once got fined for painting a bishop as a half-dressed Bacchus in a Paris salon, so you know he had a taste for trouble.
Diana and Actaeon
Venus, Mars und Vulkan
The Four Seasons
Diana and Callisto
Venus și Amor, pândiți de Pan (în Registrul inventar: Venus și Amor)
Venus and Mars
Hercules Kicking Faunus out of Omfale's Bed
Danaë
The wedding banquet of Bacchus and Ariadne
The Judgement of Paris by Hendrick van Balen
Danaë
The Fruit of Love