3-002-687 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Interior with Old Woman and Boy, 1862. Rather than recording the quaint, but impoverished circumstances of the Écouen villagers, Soyer records a scene of happy domesticity. A young child gazes inquisitively at his grandmother, who has fallen asleep with her glasses in her lap. Beside her is a cat lapping its food. On the floor are potential threats to this tranquil scene-a toy drum and drumsticks. A vase of flowers on the mantel adds a cheerful note to the rustically, but adequately furnished room.