Young+Moravian+Girl

Date: ca. 1755-1760
 * [[image:https://s3.amazonaws.com/saam.media/files/styles/x_large/s3/images/1987/1987.32_2a.jpg?itok=pBfudppI width="275" height="330" link="@https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/young-moravian-girl-9824"]] || Title: **Young Moravian Girl**

Name: **John Valentine Haidt** Born: Danzig, Germany 1700 Died: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 1780

Medium: oil on canvas Dimensions: 30 3/8 x 25 1/4 in. (77.2 x 64.2 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of the American Art Forum

Accession: 1987.32 || This girl's flushed cheeks, bright eyes, and graceful gestures hint at a vibrant personality. The artist, who was a lay preacher and painter in the Moravian community, also delights in rendering details of her traditional costume—from the pointed waistline to the elegantly slit sleeves. The Moravians were a communal society that began in the fifteenth century in Moravia and Bohemia, which today are parts of the Czech Republic. Many Moravians settled in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina.
 * Exhibition Label: **

This work is a reminder of the search for religious freedom that led many to migrate to America. The Moravians has strict social systems and were very conservative in dress. The color in the girl's dress is used to denote status-- the red ribbons mean that she is a girl not yet of marriageable age.


 * Suggested Questions: **
 * How is this girl different from young girls today?
 * What might these differences tell us about life today vs. life in her time?
 * How many pictures do you think your parents have of you? How is this similar or different from those?
 * How would you describe this girl?
 * What might this portrait tell us about Moravian culture?
 * What do we wear today to say something about who we are (e.g. ID badges, religious necklaces, clothing related to school cliques or interests)?
 * How does she compare to Mrs. George Watson?

John Valentine Haidt Young Moravian Girl TAH Notes
 * Related Resources: **

SAAM Collections Page [|Artist Biography]
 * Links: **