L'Œuvre de la Goutte de Lait

[4] At the end of the 19th century, modern ideas about children’s health began to reach poorer sections of society that had previously benefitted little from medicine.

Dispensaries were set up, such as the "Gouttes de lait" (“Drops of milk”), intended to reduce infant mortality in the working class.

[2][3][5][6] The triptych form, more commonly used for religious paintings, suggests the saintly character of the work to save children through the modern pediatric medicine.

The colour scheme is somber, reflecting the plain clothes of the subjects as well as the austere and hygienic conditions of the dispensary.

The general darkness is however interrupted where light falls on the plump flesh of the children and the smiling expressions of the mothers.