Behind the Scenes
c. 1880
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 46.4 x 38.4 cm (18 1/4 x 15 1/8 in.) framed: 55.25 x 63.18 x 6.67 cm (21 3/4 x 24 7/8 x 2 5/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CF
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.11.4
Art Historical Context
Jean-Louis Forain’s “Behind the Scenes,” painted around 1880, offers a glimpse into the lively yet intimate world of Parisian theater during the late nineteenth century. Forain, a French artist closely associated with the Impressionists and influenced by Edgar Degas, frequently turned his attention to modern urban life, including backstage moments, courtrooms, and cafés. This small oil on canvas captures the period’s fascination with what happens out of public view, reflecting broader cultural interest in performance, spectacle, and the realities behind elegant façades. The work’s modest scal...
About the Artist
Jean-Louis Forain
Jean-Louis Forain was born Louis Henri Forain on October 23, 1852, in Reims, France, to a family of modest means; his father painted ornamental signs. The family relocated to Paris when he was eight, where young Forain developed a passion for drawing inspired by the sculptures of Reims Cathedral and the masters at the Louvre, which he began copying at age fourteen. He received drawing lessons from...