Prayer

Léon-Emile Caille 1836 - 1907

Summary

A mother and child sit together under the high mantelpiece of a kitchen fireplace, with a door ajar behind them. The young woman, who has a bowl and spoon in her lap, is brightly dressed in a green and white striped skirt and long-sleeved blouse, with a lightweight, patterned shawl pulled around her shoulders and a green felt hat, possibly tied with straw. The child, in a colourful pinafore, kneels against her mother, saying grace. The objects ranged around the hearth appear shiny and clean, implying the young woman's industry and good character. Léon Caille, who was born in Merville (Nord), studied for two years at the painting academy in Lille, before winning a place at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, under the tutelage of Léon Cogniet. He exhibited genre paintings at the Salon from 1861 and in London in 1878. His small-format paintings convey the intimacy and affection of happy family life.