Paul Peel is the artist; don't recall the exact name of the prints. I always loved them, too.

Thank you olychick. I did not know that they were done by a Canadian artist.
Just FYI I now know one is called after the bath and the other the modest model.
I picked them both up at a garage sale. And they have beautiful frames with non glare glass. Thanks again.

Those look like nice quality painting, but am I the only one that finds the one with the old man a little creepy...painting, na ked kid, bottle of something or other on the floor. Maybe I'm reading into it too much.

No, always1stepbehind, I thought the same thing but wasn't sure whether to say it or not. I find it very creepy. Don't like it at all.

I am conflicted because it is obviously a great study of the little boy, but I can feel his shyness and how uncomfortable he is with being exposed, which the artist captured perfectly. The artist drawn looks patient and friendly, but hey that's what they say about pedophiles. Maybe all paintings of nude children are creepy in that way.

Talk about creepy! My first thought was that Grandpa was just seeing what his grandson was doing while he painted. I look at it longer and STILL think that. The only thing creepy here is...

The two works are some of the most sentimental by Canadian artist Paul Peel (1860-1892). "After the Bath" received a medal at the 1890 Paris Salon. Peel lived in Paris, and it's worth noting that public opinion of nudity in France then and now is far different than in North America. Also worth considering that Peel was one of the first Canadian artists to draw nudes, and at the time of his death from a lung infection at age 32 was moving toward Impressionism. He had two young children who were often his models.

Becky

"Those look like nice quality painting, but am I the only one that finds the one with the old man a little creepy...painting, na ked kid, bottle of something or other on the floor. Maybe I'm reading into it too much."

Nope! I feel the same way.

And when I showed them to others here, just asking their opinion without revealing mine, they thought the same.

The child's obvious reluctance is painful.....

Reluctance? To what? I think someone is putting their own warped sensibilities on what seems, as Becky points out, to be a "sentimental" depiction of concern rather than lechery. What's going on in your head? Talk about "creepy"! Get your head out of the sewer; what you see as disgusting is coming from your brain, certainly not the artist nor the normal art world. Examine your own observations.

I too found it creepy. I don't care what the "normal" art world thinks. What I see as disturbing comes from knowledge of child abuse. And yes, I have examined my observations. Get your head out of the sand, RRMI.

I don't like them either. I'm with you guys and am glad you "voiced" what I was thinking.

Breathing a sigh of relief...I found them creepy, too. Glad I am not the only one.

I also found them creepy.

Funny I found them VERY creepy and showed them to DH and he said " no" there is nothing creepy about it. So perhaps in the eyes of the beholder.

RRMI just joined " us" on Sept 11 so will be interesting to get a new view of things on the Deco forum. c

They're beautiful paintings, but I couldn't have them in my house. The age of the child in the one with the older man, is the age at which children became extremely shy about their bodies, and want their privacy. The name of the painting, "The Modest Model" indicates to me that, at the very least, this model was reluctant, whether or not France has a different view of nudity, and even though it was painted 120+ years ago. Like others, the child's discomfort makes me uncomfortable.
Dee

I think they're creepy too. They may have had the most innocent of intentions when they were painted, but in today's culture they send the wrong message.

I have a Ph.D. in Victorian literature (not art)--the same period as this painting. It is pretty commonly understood that the sentimentalization of the child body in the period often DOES have an unacknowledged sexual component. So I think it is quite understandable that many modern viewers are made uncomfortable by these paintings, especially the first one. It isn't just in the head of the viewer--there's something in the paintings provoking the response (which, as you can see, is fairly common!).

There's no doubt the artist was a talented painter. Nevertheless, I find them disturbing. I can't think of a room in my home that I would feel comfortable displaying them. Just a sign of how times have changed...everything is viewed through a different lens.