Painting of the Day: Feeding Ducks, c. 1850

Feeding Ducks
Bocion, after 1850
The Victoria and Albert Museum

This handsome genre scene/landscape is a harmony of small figures, naturalism and fancy.  The architecture of the house belies the naturalistic roots of the scene with it's unusual stylistic nod to the medieval.

"Feeding Ducks," is the work of François Bocion (1828-1890) who was born in Lausanne.  Bocion started his career as a history painter, and the architecture of the house may, in fact, be an offshoot of those early stylistic beginnings.  In the 1840s Bocion emerged as a fancier of the rustic subject matter which characterized Realist and Naturalist works, two styles which were quite the mode in France at the time.  By the 1850s, Bocion found his muse, Lake Leman, a them which was repeated frequently in his oeuvre, and is clearly represented here.

Sculpture of the Day: “Irish Peasant Woman” by Edward Onslow Ford, 1881

Irish Peasant Woman
Edward Onslow Ford, 1881
Bronze
Lady Lever Art Gallery
Liverpool

In the 1880’s art was finding a push toward realism. This was especially evident in the style of sculpture known as “New Sculpture.” One had to be careful, however. As an artist, it’s never a good idea to be too realistic when sculpting members of one’s own family.

Such was the case with sculptor Edward Onslow Ford who cast the bronze bust of an aged relative. He was quite proud of himself for showing the natural deterioration of old age. However, according to Ford’s daughter, the sitter “recoiled in horror” when she saw it for the first time.

The realistic trend didn’t last terribly long. Ford gave it up and focused on sculpting ideal busts of perfect young beauties. It’s just a pity that whomever this “Irish Peasant Woman” is, didn’t get the same treatment—at least for her sake.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: "Fishing" by François Bocion, 1855

Click image to enlarge.
Oil Painting
Bocion, 1855
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Would you guess that a fellow named François Bocion (1828-1890) was French? Well, he wasn’t. He was Swiss. So there. Bocion was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, and trained as a painter under Christian Gottlieb Steinlen (1779-1847) and François Bonnet (1811-1894) .

Bocion would move to Paris in 1845 where he entered the atelier of Louis-Aimé Grosclaude (1784-1869) and later that of Charles Gleyre (1806-1874). There, he struck up a friendship with the famed Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) and other painters of the Realist movement.

Around 1849, Bocion left Paris to return to his native Lausanne where he became a teacher at the “Ecole moyenne et industrielle.” He stayed there, teaching, until he died. During that period, however, he took a place as one of the era’s most prolific artists, and, also took some time out to travel to Paris, Vienna, Anvers and London. Still, he preferred Switzerland above all other places. There, he aided in founding the Swiss Society of Watercolourists in 1884.

If you ever wanted to see a perfect example of Bocion’s compositions, especially those post-Paris masterpieces he created after his return home—this is it. Bocion took his inspiration from all walks of life and reveled in capturing daily moments in a realistic way. Here, he shows us a fisherman, rendered in the palette of muddy, purple hues which Bocion favored in the 1850s.

The male figure in his working clothes sits, bare-footed, on a rock at the edge of a lake. The deep tones of the shadows are balanced by the white sails of a boat to the man’s left and the glow of the light on the water.

The painting was bequeathed to the V&A by the Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend in 1868. 

Painting of the Day: Feeding Ducks, c. 1850

Feeding Ducks
Bocion, after 1850
The Victoria and Albert Museum

This handsome genre scene/landscape is a harmony of small figures, naturalism and fancy.  The architecture of the house belies the naturalistic roots of the scene with it's unusual stylistic nod to the medieval.

"Feeding Ducks," is the work of François Bocion (1828-1890) who was born in Lausanne.  Bocion started his career as a history painter, and the architecture of the house may, in fact, be an offshoot of those early stylistic beginnings.  In the 1840s Bocion emerged as a fancier of the rustic subject matter which characterized Realist and Naturalist works, two styles which were quite the mode in France at the time.  By the 1850s, Bocion found his muse, Lake Leman, a them which was repeated frequently in his oeuvre, and is clearly represented here.

Sculpture of the Day: “Irish Peasant Woman” by Edward Onslow Ford, 1881

Irish Peasant Woman
Edward Onslow Ford, 1881
Bronze
Lady Lever Art Gallery
Liverpool

In the 1880’s art was finding a push toward realism. This was especially evident in the style of sculpture known as “New Sculpture.” One had to be careful, however. As an artist, it’s never a good idea to be too realistic when sculpting members of one’s own family.

Such was the case with sculptor Edward Onslow Ford who cast the bronze bust of an aged relative. He was quite proud of himself for showing the natural deterioration of old age. However, according to Ford’s daughter, the sitter “recoiled in horror” when she saw it for the first time.

The realistic trend didn’t last terribly long. Ford gave it up and focused on sculpting ideal busts of perfect young beauties. It’s just a pity that whomever this “Irish Peasant Woman” is, didn’t get the same treatment—at least for her sake.

Painting of The Day: Catching Frogs, c. 1840

Click on the image to catch some froggies.
"Catching Frogs"
Switzerland, c. 1840-1847
The Victoria & ALbert Museum

Created in Switzerland between 1840 and 1847, this genre painting is the work of Barthélemy Menn (1815-1893) who studied with Ingres and followed him on his journey to Rome. Though he started with historical compositions, Menn is best remembered for his lush landscapes and handsome portraits in a manner similar to that of the Barbizon School—quite a departure from the influence of Ingres’ shiny Manneristic approach.

Take this painting, for example. We can clearly see the hand of Corot and the school of Barbizon guiding Menn’s brush. Executed in a broad style, this combination landscape and genre painting, entitled “Catching Frogs” neatly demonstrates Menn’s admiration for the rising Realist movement of the 1840s in France.

Hey! Guess what? Guess who bequeathed this painting to the V&A. Go on… I’ll wait.

Yes! It was our old friend, The Reverend Chauncey Hare Townshend. Shocking. 

Painting of the Day: "Fishing" by François Bocion, 1855

Click image to enlarge.
Oil Painting
Bocion, 1855
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Would you guess that a fellow named François Bocion (1828-1890) was French? Well, he wasn’t. He was Swiss. So there. Bocion was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, and trained as a painter under Christian Gottlieb Steinlen (1779-1847) and François Bonnet (1811-1894) .

Bocion would move to Paris in 1845 where he entered the atelier of Louis-Aimé Grosclaude (1784-1869) and later that of Charles Gleyre (1806-1874). There, he struck up a friendship with the famed Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) and other painters of the Realist movement.

Around 1849, Bocion left Paris to return to his native Lausanne where he became a teacher at the “Ecole moyenne et industrielle.” He stayed there, teaching, until he died. During that period, however, he took a place as one of the era’s most prolific artists, and, also took some time out to travel to Paris, Vienna, Anvers and London. Still, he preferred Switzerland above all other places. There, he aided in founding the Swiss Society of Watercolourists in 1884.

If you ever wanted to see a perfect example of Bocion’s compositions, especially those post-Paris masterpieces he created after his return home—this is it. Bocion took his inspiration from all walks of life and reveled in capturing daily moments in a realistic way. Here, he shows us a fisherman, rendered in the palette of muddy, purple hues which Bocion favored in the 1850s.

The male figure in his working clothes sits, bare-footed, on a rock at the edge of a lake. The deep tones of the shadows are balanced by the white sails of a boat to the man’s left and the glow of the light on the water.

The painting was bequeathed to the V&A by the Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend in 1868.