''L'Œuvre de la goutte de lait'', or ''L'Œuvre de la goutte de lait au dispensaire de Belleville'' (''The Work of the “drop of milk" at the Belleville dispensary'') is a painted

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

Jean Geoffroy Henri-Jules-Jean Geoffroy, also known by the pseudonym Géo (1 March 1853, Marennes - 15 December 1924, Paris) was a French painter and illustrator, known primarily for his genre scenes with children. Some sources give his first names in reverse ...

. It was painted in 1901, purchased by the city of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

from the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

of 1903 and is currently in the collection of the

Petit Palais The Petit Palais (; en, Small Palace) is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts ...

. The image was popularised across France through circulation of a postcard version.

Subject

At the end of the 19th century, modern ideas about children’s health began to reach poorer sections of society that had previously benefitted little from medicine. Dispensaries were set up, such as the " Gouttes de lait" (“Drops of milk”), intended to reduce infant mortality in the working class. There babies were regularly weighed, cared for when they fell ill, and issued with pasteurised milk. The left panel shows a newborn baby being weighed shortly after birth; the central panel is full of healthy children and smiling mothers who surround a new mother as she listens carefully to the doctor’s advice about using sterilized milk; the main figure in this panel is :fr:Gaston Variot, a pioneer of childcare and colleague of

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...

. In 1892, he had founded this Belleville dispensary to protect early childhood while ensuring the education of mothers. Doctor Variot, who liked to surround himself with artists, found in Geoffroy a friend who shared his ideals. The right panel shows the young mother receiving her supply of sterilized milk in a bottle. The triptych form, more commonly used for religious paintings, suggests the saintly character of the work to save children through the modern pediatric medicine. The colour scheme is somber, reflecting the plain clothes of the subjects as well as the austere and hygienic conditions of the dispensary. The general darkness is however interrupted where light falls on the plump flesh of the children and the smiling expressions of the mothers.

External links

Brief video (in Portuguese) showing the triptych hanging in the Petit Palais

References

{{reflist 1901 paintings Paintings in the Petit Palais Poverty in painting Paintings of children Belleville, Paris Realist paintings

Subject

See also

External links

References