ticketsMember | Make a donation

First Steps

ca. 1820–25
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 806

The theme of a child’s first steps was a popular subject of genre paintings in the uncertain years following the French Revolution, owing largely to its reassuring message of continuity. Catel, who studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, would also have been familiar with the related allegory of the Ages of Man, the subject of a major Salon painting by François Gérard (1808; Musée Condé, Chantilly). The present work shares the Italian setting of Gérard’s but updates its antique dress by depicting a contemporary peasant family.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: First Steps
  • Artist: Franz Ludwig Catel (German, Berlin 1778–1856 Rome)
  • Date: ca. 1820–25
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 18 3/4 x 14 3/4 in. (47.6 x 37.4 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Whitney Collection, Gift of Wheelock Whitney III, and Purchase, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. McVeigh, by exchange, 2003

  • Object Number: 2003.42.9
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
The Massacre of the Innocents, François Joseph Navez Belgian, Oil on canvas
The Massacre of the Innocents
François Joseph Navez
1824
A Sailing Regatta near Berlin, Franz Ludwig Catel German, Watercolor, over graphite
A Sailing Regatta near Berlin
Franz Ludwig Catel
1841
View of the Church of San Pancrazio, Rome, from the South, Franz Ludwig Catel German, Graphite, watercolor
View of the Church of San Pancrazio, Rome, from the South
Franz Ludwig Catel
1834
View of the Bay of Naples with Mount Vesuvius, Franz Ludwig Catel German, Graphite, watercolor
View of the Bay of Naples with Mount Vesuvius
Franz Ludwig Catel
(Johann Heinrich) Ferdinand Olivier
ca. 1820–1822
View of Rome with Ruined Church, Franz Ludwig Catel German, Oil on paper, laid down on canvas
View of Rome with Ruined Church
Franz Ludwig Catel
ca. 1825–35

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.