Artwork
The Petition
The Petition is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Jean-Louis Forain. It dates from 1906 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right: forain / 1906
About this work
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting executed on canvas, a medium confirmed by the National Gallery of Art’s records and its designation as a painting in the artist’s oeuvre. Its formal qualities are defined by a tightly rendered composition and muted tonal handling characteristic of Forain’s late‑19th‑century genre scenes, while the surface retains the subtle brushwork and handling typical of oil on canvas in the early twentieth century.
History & Provenance
The provenance is documented in the Rosenwald papers held in the NGA Gallery Archives, with pertinent copies in National Gallery of Art curatorial records.
The Petition was painted by Jean-Louis Forain in 1906, executed in oil on canvas. The work was probably acquired in 1929 or 1930 from the dealer Charles Sessler of Philadelphia by Lessing J. Rosenwald of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. Rosenwald retained the painting until 1943, when he gave it to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it remains in the collection.
The Petition is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It was probably acquired in 1929 or 1930 from Charles Sessler of Philadelphia by Lessing J. Rosenwald of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, and was given to the National Gallery of Art in 1943. The provenance is documented in the Rosenwald papers held in the NGA Gallery Archives, with pertinent copies in National Gallery of Art curatorial records.
No specific inventory or accession number is recorded in the available sources, and no exhibition history is documented.
Overview
Jean-Louis Forain’s 1906 oil on canvas, titled The Petition, presents a small group gathered in a dimly lit interior that resembles a courtroom or council chamber. Four figures occupy the space: a standing man addressing a seated counterpart, a woman in a green dress with folded hands, and a man holding a document. The composition is anchored by books and a table, while uneven, warm lighting emphasizes the faces and creates a sense of quiet concentration.
Subject & Meaning
The work captures a moment of formal request or appeal, suggested by the title and the presence of a paper held by one figure. The interaction between the gesturing speaker and the attentive listener implies a petition being presented, while the surrounding participants observe with measured attention, reflecting everyday civic or bureaucratic procedures of early‑twentieth‑century France.
Context
Forain, a contemporary of the Impressionists, often turned to urban and social subjects, documenting the routines of Parisian life. This painting aligns with his interest in public gatherings and the subtle power dynamics within them, offering a glimpse into the procedural aspects of civic engagement in the early 1900s.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Jean-Louis Forain (French pronunciation:; 23 October 1852 – 11 July 1931) was a French Impressionist painter and printmaker, working in media including oils, watercolour, pastel, etching and lithograph.
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