| Artist | Jean-Étienne Liotard |
|---|---|
| Year | circa 1743-45 |
| Type | Pastel on parchment |
| Dimensions | 82.5 cm × 52.5 cm (32.5 in × 20.7 in) |
| Location | Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden |
The Chocolate Girl (French: La Belle Chocolatière, German: Das Schokoladenmädchen) is one of the most prominent pastels of Swiss artist Jean-Étienne Liotard, showing a chocolate-serving maid. The girl carries a tray with a porcelain chocolate mug and a glass of water. Theories concerning the girl's head-dress run from a cap cover to an echo of the colourful regional caps.[1] The girl's apron features a small bodice.
Around 1900, La Belle Chocolatière served as inspiration for the commercial illustration of the "nurse" that appeared on Droste's cocoa tins. This was most probably a work of the commercial artist Jan (Johannes) Musset. According to Droste, "The illustration indicated the wholesome effect of chocolate milk and became inextricably bound with the name Droste."[2]
Liotard's contemporaries classed The Chocolate Girl as his masterpiece.[3] Since 1765 the painting has been in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden. In 1862 the American Baker's Chocolate Company obtained the rights to use the painting.[4] During World War II the Germans transported it to Königstein Fortress.[5] The delicate painting managed to survive the cold and dampness after the Germans retreated from advancing Soviet troops.
A similar subject by Liotard is A Lady Pouring Chocolate, 1744 (National Gallery, London).