Girl with Birdcage (Jeune fille à la volière)

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

Parrots and parakeets have long been highly prized collector's items in Europe, and over the centuries artists have used the birds to evoke symbolic connotations ranging from virginity, during the Renaissance, to surrogate lovers, during the 19th century. Cézanne was no doubt aware of the theme's art historical lineage and the contemporary portrayals by his peers. His first representations of this subject date to the 1860s, and like the present canvas, draw on Dutch engravings for inspiration. According to Cézanne's son, Paul, Girl with Birdcage was intended as a gift for the artist's pious younger sister, Marie, who was attended religious services every day.

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