Children in Art During the 19
th
century patronage to the arts changed.
There was a rising bourgeois and a greater international awareness of pictorial ideas. Genre paintings triumphed! There was now a fascination with everyday scenes— images of intimate and trivial domestic life, country experiences or the working class. With the Industrial Revolution, a new, large segment of the population began accumulating great wealth. Immense fortunes were made and patrons were plentiful. Artist could choose a subject for the sheer purpose of pleasing the eye or amusing the viewer. Preferred subjects included cavaliers, beauties, military, adorable children, and charming animals
Interest in sentimental genre pictures that depicted children and children’s lives flourished during the late nineteenth century. French and European artists often portrayed children with a roguish and mischievous nature, whereas the British artists focused on the rustic genre scenes that featured charming, smiling children in everyday activities.
HENRY JULES JEAN GEOFFROY : PAINTER AND ILLUSTRATOR OF CHILDREN
Though he was versed in all mediums (watercolor, oil, etching, illustration) and types of subject matter, Geoffroy was most akin to the study and depiction of children in everyday settings. His charming images portrayed an abundance of situations, indoors or out, playing games; frolicking in the park; observing puppet or other traveling acts; at market, the nursery or attending school lessons.
Geoffroy never sought to idealize his subjects. Rather, his aim for the picturesque was achieved through the capturing of spontaneous actions and fresh points of view unique to childhood folly. His quick drawings and en plein air technique were precisely the qualities necessary for depicting the moods of his subjects. Geoffroy’s works garnered the admiration and support of connoisseurs throughout Paris. He was frequently commissioned by well-to-do families to paint portraits of their little ones. Of further note, the signature Geoffroy chose for his completed works changed in the middle years of his career. Initially he had used his full name and then condensed it in 1880 to “Geo.” MUSEUMS/LOCATIONS Amiens Bayeux, Musée du Baron Gérard Beune, Musée des Beaux Arts Birmingham Brazil Cambrai Canada Clermont-Ferrand Cholet Dijon Hermitage Museum Paris (Louvre) Luxembourg Lyon Macon Moscow Moulins Mulhouse Nantes Niort Rochefort La Rochelle Rouen Museums of Fine Arts, Saintes Tourcoing Trieste Vichy