This gentle early 20th-century oil on canvas by Dutch artist Christiaan Zwaan (1882-1964) depicts an interior scene with a young family. It’s a representation of ‘domestic bliss’ with an emphasis on the bond between a mother and child.

Zwaan was a reputable artist and a specialist of domestic scenes such as this. During the early to mid-20th-century, numerous Dutch artists focused their brushes on scenes which portrayed a rose-tinted idyll of life for rural families. Everyone here is satisfied, even the family cat, which enjoys a saucer of fresh milk.

A label on the reverse of the painting refers to Aitken Dott & Son of Edinburgh.

Signed and held within an ornate foliate frame.

Learn more about Christian Zwaan in our directory.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 30” x 28” / 76cm x 71cm
Year of creation: c. 1930
Condition: Artwork presents well. Craquelure but the paint is stable. Frame with some light wear.
Artist’s auction highlight: £7,040 achieved for an oil painting in 2000.