John Singer Sargent: The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit (1882)

(Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA)

This famous painting was made for the lawyer and painter Edward Darley Boit and his wife Mary Louisa Cushing Boit. The entire setting was inspired by the famous painting 'Las Meninas' by the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez. The setting of the painting if the foyer of the apartment of Boit in Paris. The 4 girls are dressed in casual clothes they would have worn in the schoolroom or at play. The two large vases are Japanese vases made for export to the West. These vases are about 188cm tall and have survived - today they can also be seen at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The girls are arranged by their age. The youngest Julia is 4 and is sitting in the front, Mary Louisa (8 years) is standing at the left and Florence (14) and Jane (12) are standing in the background on the right. Painting from 1882.