While Peasant Family in an Interior (c. 1642; Paris, Musée du Louvre) is undeniably one of the Le Nain brothers' most famous works, scholars have reached no consensus on the level of reality depicted in the image, or on the painting's meaning. This thesis argues that the represented scene is a constructed one and that it presents the allegory of the Ages of Man. By closely examining the details of the painting, it is apparent that the Le Nain brothers do not accurately portray seventeenth–century French peasant life, but rather depict an invented scene with clear allegorical significance. The figures of the children, the man and woman, and the elderly woman represent the three ages of childhood, adulthood, and old age. Consideration of the pictorial tradition of representing the Ages of Man, as well as texts on the theme, reveals that the Le Nains participated in a representational trend in depicting the allegorical theme in a naturalistic manner. In addition to exploring the style through which the motif is expressed, this thesis investigates the roles and responsibilities expected at each represented age as outlined by texts and images, and analyzes how the Le Nain brothers indicate these aspects in their painting of Peasant Family in an Interior. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Art History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2013. / March 4, 2013. / Ages of Man, Le Nain, Peasant / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert Neuman, Professor Directing Thesis; Jack Freiberg, Committee Member; Stephanie Leitch, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_183785 |
| Contributors | Larson, Caroline Victoria (authoraut), Neuman, Robert (professor directing thesis), Freiberg, Jack (committee member), Leitch, Stephanie (committee member), Department of Art History (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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