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The Curious One

Pierre-Antoine Mongin

1823

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

French Romanticism Romanticism Early 19th Century Genre Scene

Dominant colour

The Curious One is a 1823 unspecified by Pierre-Antoine Mongin, a French Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Pierre-Antoine Mongin
When & what style?: 1823 · French Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

The painting shows a young man climbing a ladder over a garden wall. He's trying to peek into a school for young ladies. The artist included a sign with the school's name, which adds to the scene's detail. The man's curiosity gets the better of him, and he can't resist taking a look. This kind of scene, with a hint of voyeurism, is common in the artist's work. You can learn more about the artist's use of light and shadow by looking into the technique of chiaroscuro.

The story of this work

Overview

Here a young man uses a ladder to climb over a garden wall. The sign at his right translates into "School for Young Ladies under the Direction of Mrs. Wachsam"— wachsam being the German word for "watchful." Apparently, overcome by curiosity, the man cannot resist his desire to see the young women concealed behind the wall. Scenes with amorous, sometimes voyeuristic overtones are common in the work of Mongin. The artist also seems fascinated with depicting the exact details of his settings. In 1824, a critic who saw The Curious One wrote that Mongin's paintings are "portraits of houses coated…

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

Pierre-Antoine Mongin

Pierre-Antoine Mongin (1761 – 19 May 1827) was a French painter and engraver. Mongin was the designer for the 1807 Zuber & Cie scenic wallpaper l'Hindoustan. In 2013, a part of his design for l'Hindoustan appeared on a…

See the richer artist page