Renoir painted this scene of a peasant girl holding a plump child during a trip to Naples in 1881. Dissatisfied with his drawing skills, he had traveled to Italy to study ancient frescoes and Renaissance masters; he was particularly inspired by the "simplicity and grandeur" of Raphael's paintings. One can see the Italian painter's influence here in the composition's balanced arrangement and the gentle interaction between the rosy-cheeked figures. This is perhaps Renoir's modern, secular take on the Madonna and Child subject.
