Farewell to the Wet Nurse

An elegantly dressed mother takes her child from the woman on the left, who has nursed him from early infancy. Placing babies in the care of hired wet nurses - preferably young women from rural areas, as the painting’s rustic setting suggests - was a common practice among wealthy French families in the eighteenth century. The child’s gesture and anguished expression reflect the affectionate relationship that could result from this arrangement.