Portrait of Jeanne Kefer

This painting by Fernand Khnopff haunting portrait of five-year-old Jeanne Kéfer in 1885, creating one of the major works of Belgian Symbolism. The child stands before an adult-sized closed door, her small figure emphasizing her vulnerability and uncertainty about the outside world. She reaches into her coat with thumb catching the edge of her bow.

Jeanne was the daughter of pianist Gustave Kéfer, a friend of the artist. Khnopff frequently posed his models against closed doors, flattening the space to create meditative, hermetically sealed images. The painting was scheduled for the Les XX exhibition in 1885 but wasn't finished in time; it appeared the following year to positive reviews.

The painting, measuring 80 by 80 centimeters, now hangs at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. The Getty published a scholarly monograph on this work as part of their Studies on Art series, recognizing its importance in Symbolist painting.