Woman at the Spinet
1860
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
Artist
François Bonvin
François Bonvin (1817–1887) was a French artist, born in Paris.
See the richer artist page1860
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Woman at the Spinet is a 1860 by François Bonvin, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman plays a spinet, a small keyboard instrument. She's dressed nicely, with a calm face. Her music book is open, and a pink carnation lies on the floor. The painting shows a quiet moment in her life. The artist likely painted his wife, who was a musician. To learn more about similar quiet scenes, look up the technique of chiaroscuro.
The subject of the woman at the piano was a recurrent theme in Bonvin’s oeuvre. The pianist depicted here was likely Céline Prunaire, a 21-year-old musician who married the much older artist in 1860. Although the meticulously rendered composition celebrates the grace and propriety of the young woman, the happiness of the couple’s union was fleeting. Prunaire left the artist after fewer than three years, never to return. The pink carnation at her feet suggests a note of foreboding to the image, perhaps intended to allude to the ephemeral nature of music and sentimental bonds.
Read the full account in the museum source.
François Bonvin (1817–1887) was a French artist, born in Paris.
See the richer artist page
