by Jonathan Freeman
The Geography Lesson is an oil painting done by Louis Leopold Boilly in 1812. This portrait depicts Monsieur Gaudry, a French Paymaster, His Daughter and their beloved dog. Boilly was regarded as one of the greatest painters in France during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.
This painting is intriguing because of the great detail of the character’s faces. Notice how much more intense the colors of Monsieur Gaudry and his daughter are than the colors in the back ground. The foreground is full of flowing shapes and lines of the characters' features and their clothes while the background is very geometric with the lines of the fire place, the rectangular trim, and the round globe. The rectangular shapes are repeated throughout the background similar to Las Meninas. Boilly conveys the depth or multidimensional aspect by scaling down the fireplace in the background. He also isolates the foreground by placing the light source directly above the center of the characters while keeping the background very blended, dark colors.
Boilly also moves the viewer’s eye through the painting with the bright colors in the foreground. The viewer’s eye is drawn to the warm red shoes of the Monsieur, books on the table, and even pattern on the carpet. The bright white dress, shirt, and stockings also cause the eye to move through the area of interest of the painting. A key element in this painting also appears to be the eyes of all three figures.
Notice that the painting ties in the viewer with the eyes of the dog looking straight out of the painting. Even as the dog looks up as if someone has just entered the room the eyes of the father remain focused on the girl and hers eyes seemingly fixed on the material on the table. This helps to create the substance of the painting and convey the element of teaching to the viewer. Notice also the position of the girls hands, positioned on her father's shoulder, as if he is supporting her. This help to convey his role as more than just a teahcer but as a father also.
This painting is intriguing because of the great detail of the character’s faces. Notice how much more intense the colors of Monsieur Gaudry and his daughter are than the colors in the back ground. The foreground is full of flowing shapes and lines of the characters' features and their clothes while the background is very geometric with the lines of the fire place, the rectangular trim, and the round globe. The rectangular shapes are repeated throughout the background similar to Las Meninas. Boilly conveys the depth or multidimensional aspect by scaling down the fireplace in the background. He also isolates the foreground by placing the light source directly above the center of the characters while keeping the background very blended, dark colors.
Boilly also moves the viewer’s eye through the painting with the bright colors in the foreground. The viewer’s eye is drawn to the warm red shoes of the Monsieur, books on the table, and even pattern on the carpet. The bright white dress, shirt, and stockings also cause the eye to move through the area of interest of the painting. A key element in this painting also appears to be the eyes of all three figures.
Notice that the painting ties in the viewer with the eyes of the dog looking straight out of the painting. Even as the dog looks up as if someone has just entered the room the eyes of the father remain focused on the girl and hers eyes seemingly fixed on the material on the table. This helps to create the substance of the painting and convey the element of teaching to the viewer. Notice also the position of the girls hands, positioned on her father's shoulder, as if he is supporting her. This help to convey his role as more than just a teahcer but as a father also.
Boilly helps to present the characters as a family by placing them all side by side at a uniform depth. This helps to also create an implied horizontal line from one character to the others, giving a relaxed tone to the painting. The pose of the Monsieur also help to give action to the painting. As he looks towards his daughter it appears he is in the middle of explaining something. This would not be an action he would hold for any length of time and places a sense of expectation of what the previous and post events to the one portrayed are.
This painting is part of the permanent collection on display at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Although it is in the company of paintings by Monet and Picasso it stands out as an incredible painting. It has been a part of the Art Museum since 1990 and is hung seemingly tucked away in a corner in the European collection.
This painting is part of the permanent collection on display at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Although it is in the company of paintings by Monet and Picasso it stands out as an incredible painting. It has been a part of the Art Museum since 1990 and is hung seemingly tucked away in a corner in the European collection.
1 comment:
Thanks for this comprehensible explanation. It did remind me on some Vermeer painting so I was looking for more information
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