Lot Essay
Originally in the Parisian de Seure Collection during the nineteenth century, this small panel was in good company as de Seure was deeply interested in collecting works by Bonvin. In the 1888 sale of his collection 32 works by Francois Bonvin were listed where, in addition to L'Ecolier en reteunue, there was one other painting of a single school boy called Ecolier se rendant à l'école. The theme, that of a young boy preparing his lessons, was one that Bonvin painted several times in the mid-1870s as documented in the Bonvin catalogue published in 1979 (nos 60bis, 61 and 62). Significantly, the current composition appears to be the first of this series completed in the 1870s.
One variant of the theme shows a table with garments behind the young boy (cat. no. 60 bis Bonvin, 1979) and another (cat. no. 61 Bonvin, 1979) shows the young student seen from the back. This current work seems the purest of all these studies, as if Bonvin was rediscovering a theme he had treated in the 1850s by centering considerable attention on the child's facial features and his introspective quality. It also appears that this is a work that was exhibited in the 1886 Exposition de tableaux et dessins par F. Bonvin at the Galerie D. Rothschild (May 10-31, 1886), as no. 46 L'Ecolier is also dated 1873. The painting was reproduced as an engraving (date unknown), shortly after the completion of the panel.
Bonvin's selection of the theme was inspired by a general interest in childhood education. Children were encouraged to attend school, changes in education policy were being redirected throughout the century. Bonvin responded to these social implications by using a single child practicing his lessons in the corner of a deserted schoolroom as a symbol for many other children undergoing simlar training in France. The spotlight on the boy adds drama to the presentation while demonstrating that Bonvin had become one of the primary realist painters interested in showing phases of childhood development with tenderness and considerable compassion.
We are grateful to Professor Gabriel P. Weisberg for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.
One variant of the theme shows a table with garments behind the young boy (cat. no. 60 bis Bonvin, 1979) and another (cat. no. 61 Bonvin, 1979) shows the young student seen from the back. This current work seems the purest of all these studies, as if Bonvin was rediscovering a theme he had treated in the 1850s by centering considerable attention on the child's facial features and his introspective quality. It also appears that this is a work that was exhibited in the 1886 Exposition de tableaux et dessins par F. Bonvin at the Galerie D. Rothschild (May 10-31, 1886), as no. 46 L'Ecolier is also dated 1873. The painting was reproduced as an engraving (date unknown), shortly after the completion of the panel.
Bonvin's selection of the theme was inspired by a general interest in childhood education. Children were encouraged to attend school, changes in education policy were being redirected throughout the century. Bonvin responded to these social implications by using a single child practicing his lessons in the corner of a deserted schoolroom as a symbol for many other children undergoing simlar training in France. The spotlight on the boy adds drama to the presentation while demonstrating that Bonvin had become one of the primary realist painters interested in showing phases of childhood development with tenderness and considerable compassion.
We are grateful to Professor Gabriel P. Weisberg for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.