Going to School

Artist Jules Bastien-Lepage (Lorraine, France, 1848 - 1884)

Date1882

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall (Height x Width): 809 × 598mm
Frame Size (Height x Width): 1083 × 864mm
Weight: 20.5kg

AcquisitionPurchased in 1927.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationOn Display - Gallery 10

Object numberABDAG002288

Keywords

About MeFollowing in the footsteps of Gustave Courbet, Jules Bastien-Lepage became the champion of the French Realist school. Scottish collectors particularly admired his work and he exerted a formative influence on the young generation of Scottish Realist painters.

Although there seems to be no obvious social comment in this painting of a girl on her way to school on a cold morning, it was painted in the wake of extensive reforms in education. The schoolgirl wearing a makeshift head-dress, constructed from a hessian sack, can be read as an 'after' image, illustrating the social benefits of education.

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More About Me

Collections Wall

The artist portrays the girl in typically natural way, capturing her questioning look as she passes by on her way to school.

Exhibitions

Gallery 10 - French Impressions