Vrouw wast en verbindt de wond van een jongen

About this artwork

collector's mark: Lugt 2228a

Art Historical Context

**Vrouw wast en verbindt de wond van een jongen (Woman Washes and Bandages a Boy's Wound) is a poignant lithography by French artist Charles-Abraham Chelat, created sometime between 1823 and1830. Chasselat, a painter and printmaker renowned for his tender depictions of children and domestic life, captures a moment of quiet compassion: a woman gently tending to a young boy's injury. This intimate genre scene reflects the Romantic era's fascination with everyday humanity, emotion, and familial bonds amid post-Napoleonic France's social shifts. Printed in lithography—a revolutionary technique invented just decades earlier— the work measures a modest 270 × 205 mm, allowing for intricate details like the textures of fabric and skin to shine through greasy crayon on stone. Lithography democratized art, enabling affordable reproductions of drawings for a wider audience, which suited Chasselat's accessible style bridging Neoclassicism and emerging Realism. Bearing the collector's mark Lugt 2228a, this print hints at a distinguished provenance, underscoring its enduring appeal. It invites visitors to ponder themes of care and resilience, timeless reminders of human kindness in humble settings.