The theme of innocent slumber was often evoked in memorials to children, but these babes are indeed only sleeping. The work is based on a best-selling tale by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, first published on the eve of the French Revolution, of an aristocratic girl from mainland France and a peasant boy growing up together in the island paradise of Mauritius.

Purchased by Prince Albert and presented to Queen Victoria at Christmas 1851

No. 90