1780

Mrs. Charles Peale and her Grandchildren, Raphaelle, Angelica & Rembrandt

American, 1741 - 1827

Charles Willson Peale’s children, Raphaelle, Angelica, and Rembrandt, were approximately six, five, and two when he painted this tender portrait of them eagerly surrounding their long-widowed grandmother, Margaret Triggs Peale. Charles’s mother was an important family caregiver, and her son acknowledged her role by using a composition traditionally associated with the figure of Charity—that of a woman embracing three children. Here the children hold a book of botanical illustrations that suggests the world of nature and growth as a soft light flows over the figures, imparting a sense of warmth, calm, and nurture. Peale was the head of a large family and an artist known for his engaging family portraits.