Poor Fauvette (1881) Jules Bastien-Lapage
Kids today, eh? In my day we would have been happily sat in front of the telly watching Swap Shop, but apparently it's cool now to hang around in a field with a sack on your head. This is a bleak image that is also rather beautiful due to the fawn tones of everything from the rough ground to the cow and its tiny, solemn guard, 'Fauvette', the little wild child. She's there between the teasels and the bleak little tree, upright and yet somehow fragile. Sharing the colours of nature around her, the child seems to have also grown up in the scrubby land and seems to be faring about as well as the tree next to her.I rather liked this blog post on the subject of Jules Bastien-Lapage. The artist died appropriately early at 36, in the arms of Prince Bojidar Karageorgevich, which is a pretty decent way to go, and his work was given credit by Roger Fry for paving the way for Impressionism. By far, I have to admit my favorite of his works is his portrait of Sarah Bernhardt...
Sarah Bernhardt (1879) Jules Bastien-Lepage
Mind you, that's not even vaguely miserable, so back to Poor Fauvette in her field. The look on her face is especially interesting as she has certainly seen some stuff in her time. The poor lass does look worried. I'm guessing there were more cows yesterday but then she got a bit snacky in the night. She's now attempting to act casual, wondering if anyone will notice. The little poppet now has massive indigestion, which explains that expression. We've all been there, especially at Christmas.See you tomorrow.
