1874
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Young Woman with a Mandolin, Portrait of Louison Köhler is a 1874 unspecified by François Bonvin, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
The painting shows a young woman playing a mandolin. She's sitting in a quiet room, looking relaxed. The woman in the painting is Louison Köhler, the artist's mistress, which adds a personal touch to the work. The artist was inspired by 17th-century Dutch and Flemish paintings. He liked their realistic style. This influence is visible in the way he painted everyday scenes and objects. You can learn more about similar artworks by looking up the technique of chiaroscuro.
Bonvin was fascinated by the realism of 17th-century Dutch, Flemish, and Spanish still life paintings. He was also aware of the French Realist movement, a highly candid, straightforward style with political overtones. This work embodies both the realism for which Bonvin was famous and the still life paintings of earlier periods. The woman in the painting is Louison Köhler (1850–?), the artist's mistress. After two failed marriages, Bonvin met her in 1870, and she remained with him until his death, appearing in several of his paintings. The image of the reclining woman hanging directly over…
Read the full account in the museum source.
François Bonvin (1817–1887) was a French artist, born in Paris.
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