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Tea time
(c. 1898-1902)
Medium
watercolour over pencil
Measurements
(39.0 × 46.3 cm) (image) (40.8 × 48.4 cm) (sheet)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1961
Gallery location
Gallery 7
Level 2, NGV Australia
About this work
Tea time is a portrait of the young French art student Jeanne Heloise Morel, whom Rupert Bunny met in 1892. She became the artist’s partner, muse and principal model, her graceful figure and sensuous features appearing in many of his paintings. In this watercolour, Bunny captures the atmosphere of a sunny afternoon. Working quickly in an Impressionist style, he has painted accents of bright colour in the hat, the tea set and red fan on the table, and in the centre of the sheet, Bunny left a large area of the paper exposed to create the gleaming white tablecloth.
Artwork Details
Inscription
inscribed in black paint (in image) l.l.: Rupert C W Bunny
Accession Number
904-5
Department
Australian Prints & Drawings
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of the Joe White Bequest