Martin Drolling

Martin Drolling painted domestic interiors and scenes of everyday life with quiet charm: kitchens, dining rooms, families at home and views through windows, painted with careful detail and soft, clear daylight.

He was born in Oberhergheim, Alsace, in 1752 and trained in Sélestat before studying in Paris. He built a solid career painting familiar subjects, many of them reproduced as engravings and lithographs in his lifetime. His best known picture is Interior of a Kitchen of 1815, shown at the Salon of 1817 and now in the Louvre. His son Michel Martin Drolling and his daughter Louise-Adéone Drölling were also painters.

Interior of a Dining Room and The Rustic Family show his calm, orderly homes. Look at the play of light from the window on walls and floors. He died in Paris in 1817.