2005.1 Thomas Sully, Cinderella at the Kitchen Fire | DMA Staging Content Management System

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

In the late 1830s, in response to financial problems, Thomas Sully began to create "fancy pictures" of literary and sentimental subjects for the open market. This painting—one of Sully's largest and most successful—illustrates the fairy tale "Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper" by Charles Perrault. First published in France in 1692 and a perennial favorite in English translation after 1729, Cinderella is the story of a beautiful girl mistreated by her family who ultimately wins a prince with a little help from her fairy godmother. For his portrayal, Thomas Sully focused on the poignant moment when the humble maid, denied an invitation to the royal ball, plays with her cat while her vain step sisters primp in the background. His daughter Rosalie was his model. The artist, desperate to raise funds, finished the work rapidly, in just two months. A success when it was exhibited in Philadelphia in 1844 and Baltimore in 1848, the painting displays the delicate glazes, rosy palette, and fluid brushwork that were trademarks of Sully's dazzling style, combined with a popular subject familiar to generations of viewers.

Adapted from

Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Thomas Sully, Cinderella at the Kitchen Fire," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 180.
William Keyse Rudolph, DMA label text, 2006

NOTES

Created in 1843

Frame is probably original: created about 1830

Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Sully, Thomas (American, 1783-1872)

Cultures

Geography

Place of origin: Philadelphia (Pennsylvania/United States): TGN: 7014406

Process/materials

Oil on canvas

Historical periods

Individuals

Subject terms

RELATED OBJECTS

PROVENANCE

By 1848: J.S. Earle

Until 1916: Mrs. Benjamin Thaw (sold American Art Association, New York, May 10, 1916, lot 155)

1916-1932: Samuel Marx, New York (sold May 6, 1932 lot 562)

1932-1996: private collection (sold Sotheby's New York, March 14, 1996, lot 40)

From 2005: Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Pauline Allen Gill Foundation (Hirschl & Adler, New York)

AUDIO ASSETS

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES

Cinderella Stories~In addition to Charles Perrault's Cinderella, there are many other versions of this folk tale. Read an assortment on D. L. Ashliman's list of folktexts.

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

The name "Cinderella" is derived from the French term "cendrillon" which means "little ashes."

TEACHING IDEAS

TI Thomas Sully, Cinderella at the Kitchen Fire

RULES

Apply to objects where number equals 2005.1

General Description

In the late 1830s, in response to financial problems, Thomas Sully began to create "fancy pictures" of literary and sentimental subjects for the open market. This painting—one of Sully's largest and most successful—illustrates the fairy tale "Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper" by Charles Perrault. First published in France in 1692 and a perennial favorite in English translation after 1729, Cinderella is the story of a beautiful girl mistreated by her family who ultimately wins a prince with a little help from her fairy godmother. For his portrayal, Thomas Sully focused on the poignant moment when the humble maid, denied an invitation to the royal ball, plays with her cat while her vain step sisters primp in the background. His daughter Rosalie was his model. The artist, desperate to raise funds, finished the work rapidly, in just two months. A success when it was exhibited in Philadelphia in 1844 and Baltimore in 1848, the painting displays the delicate glazes, rosy palette, and fluid brushwork that were trademarks of Sully's dazzling style, combined with a popular subject familiar to generations of viewers.