Boy Reading
François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
c. 1861
- Medium
- Black chalk, heightened with touches of white chalk, on white laid paper
- Classification
- Drawing and Watercolor
- Dimensions
- 47.5 × 31.2 cm (18 3/4 × 12 5/16 in.)
- Culture
- France
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Prints and Drawings
- Credit line
- Harold Joachim Memorial Endowment Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
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.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
