Although some critics praised the painting for its grace and beauty, it did not attract much interest and Morisot failed to sell it.

[2] The work remained subsequently in the family collection, passing into the hands of Blanche Portillon, the painter's niece and model of the sleeping baby.

Between 1947 and 1986, it was exhibited at the Jeu de Paume, located in the Jardin des Tuileries and owned by the Louvre, where the main works of impressionism were brought together.

[1] The current painting constitutes the first representation of the theme of motherhood in Morisot's work, which the artist would later regularly cultivate.

Regarding the title, The Cradle, when comparing it with other paintings that represented sleeping children also exhibited at the Official Salon, Dominique Lobstein states that "before perhaps contributing to an aesthetic revolution, this painting participates in a rhetorical evolution: Morisot abandons all anecdotal picturesqueness and the title take on a tasteful simplicity, intended to immediately inform the viewer of the content of the work and allow him to project himself as in his own daily life".