Boy Reading

c. 1861

François Bonvin
French, 1817-1887

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.

Status: On View, Gallery 223
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: François Bonvin
Title: Boy Reading
Place: France (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1856–1866
Medium: Black chalk, heightened with touches of white chalk, on white laid paper
Inscriptions: Signed lower left, in image, in black chalk: "F Bonvin"
Dimensions: 47.5 × 31.2 cm (18 3/4 × 12 5/16 in.)
Credit Line: Harold Joachim Memorial Endowment Fund
Reference Number: 1994.101
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/129771/manifest.json

Art Institute of Chicago, “Master Drawings Unveiled: 25 Years of Major Acquisitions,” August 27, 2016–January 29, 2017, no cat.

Private Collection, Paris [according to Stoppenbach and Delestre]. Sold by Stoppenbacch and Delestre, Ltd., London, to the Art Institute, 1994.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.