1898
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Head of a Boy Singing (Study for Music) is a 1898 by Luc-Olivier Merson, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A boy tilts his head back, mouth open in song, eyes closed. Soft light touches his cheeks and throat. This is a practice sketch for a big mural in a Paris opera house. The artist drew it from life, so the boy’s voice almost feels real—you can see the breath in his chest. Look up other sketches from *france, 19th century* to see how artists built big paintings one face at a time.
This sheet was a preparatory study for the face of a singing boy who appears near the center of Music , a mural decorating the left grand staircase at the Théâtre National de l’Opéra-Comique in Paris. Drawn from life with exquisite naturalism, Luc-Olivier Merson captured the sitter’s youthful beauty with such clarity that the purity of the boy’s voice seems to emanate from the drawing.
The face of the boy in this drawing is pricked extensively so that the image could be transferred directly to the final painting for which it was a study. The two works differ only in the addition of a hat on the boy's head in the final work.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Luc-Olivier Merson (21 May 1846 - 13 November 1920) was a French academic painter and illustrator. He was also known for his postage stamp and currency designs.
See the richer artist page
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