Boy Reading
c. 1861
Medium
Black chalk, heightened with touches of white chalk, on white laid paper
Dimensions
47.5 × 31.2 cm (18 3/4 × 12 5/16 in.)
Classification
chalk
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
129771
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Large-scale monochrome drawings, such as this one, became popular in 19th-century France and were considered finished works in their own right, rather than preparatory studies for paintings. Here, a young boy is lost in contemplation while reading a book. This scene of leisure serves as a counterpoint to Servant Drawing Water from the Fountain (2024.149), which depicts a maid at work.
About the Artist
François Bonvin · 1817–1888
François Bonvin (1817–1887) was a French Realist painter whose quiet, meticulously observed canvases of domestic interiors and humble working-class subjects placed him among the most thoughtful and committed practitioners of the Realist movement in nineteenth-century France. Born in Vaugirard, on the outskirts of Paris, Bonvin came from modest origins and largely educated himself as an artist thro...