The Maths Lesson
1845
oil
canvas
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1845
oil
canvas
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
The Maths Lesson is a 1845 oil by Unknown, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
The painting shows a boy sitting at a desk, looking at a book. He's wearing a full-skirted coat, which was a common fashion for boys back then. This coat style was influenced by German fashion, with very wide sleeves and skirts. The boy's coat is a interesting detail, it was a practical and smart outfit. It was also a way to transition from dresses to tailored jackets as boys got older. You can learn more about this style by looking at the technique of chiaroscuro.
The painting depicts a boy in a black frock coat, white shirt, and pale blue tie, holding a wooden-framed slate with numbers against his body while looking at it with a perplexed expression; his left hand rests near his head. The boy wears a full-skirted buttoned coat, a fashionable style for young boys in the mid-19th century, influenced by German trends of the 1830s–40s. The lower portion of the work dissolves into darkness, and the painting is housed in a walnut veneered frame. It was acquired by the V&A Museum of Childhood after being sold at Christie’s in 2007.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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