Artvee
  • Browse
    • Abstract
    • Figurative
    • Landscape
    • Religion
    • Mythology
    • Posters
    • Drawings
    • Illustration
    • Still Life
    • Animals
    • Botanical
    • Asian Art
  • Books
  • Artists
  • Explore
    • Topics
    • Culture
    • Movements
  • Highlights
  • Collections
  • Galleries
  • Artvee Pro
Login
Artvee
Menu
François Bonvin - A Nun Seated at a Table Knitting

A Nun Seated at a Table Knitting (1862)

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Favourite
Collect

Standard, 1458 x 1800px JPG, Size: 2.35 MB

Download

Max Size, 4111 x 5077px JPG, Size: 19.15 MB

Download
License: All public domain files can be freely used for personal and commercial projects.
Why is this image in the public domain?
The Artist died in 1887 so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries where the copyright term is the Artist's life plus 70 years or fewer.
François Bonvin

François Bonvin was a French realist painter.

Bonvin was born in humble circumstances in Paris, the son of a police officer and a seamstress. When he was four years old his mother died of tuberculosis and young François was left in the care of an old woman who underfed him. Soon his father married another seamstress and brought the child back into the household. Nine additional children were born (one of whom was Léon Bonvin). The family's resources were severely strained, and to make matters worse his stepmother took to abusing and undernourishing François.

The young Bonvin started drawing at an early age. His potential was recognized by a friend of the family, who paid for him to attend a school for drawing instruction at age eleven. Bonvin attended the Ecole de Dessin in Paris from 1828 until 1830, when his father apprenticed him to a printer. Bonvin later studied at the Académie Suisse, but was mostly self-taught as an artist. He considered François Granet, to whom he showed some of his drawings in 1843, his only mentor. Bonvin spent his free time at the Louvre where he especially appreciated the Dutch old masters and was welcomed by the collector Louis La Caze.

Bonvin married a laundress at the age of twenty, at about the same time that he secured a job at the headquarters of the Paris police, where he worked until 1850. It was during this period that he contracted an illness which would trouble him for the rest of his life.

Bonvin exhibited three paintings in the Salon of 1849, where he was awarded a third-class medal. He exhibited in the Salon of 1850 with Courbet, and won recognition as a leading realist, painting truthfully the lives of the poor which he knew at first hand. His paintings were well received by critics and by the public. Although his work had elements in common with Courbet's, his modestly scaled paintings were not seen as revolutionary. He was awarded the Légion d'honneur in 1870.

His subjects were still life and the everyday activities of common people, painted in a style that is reminiscent of Pieter de Hooch and Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin. It is the latter who is especially recalled by Bonvin's delicate luminosity.

In 1881 he underwent an operation which did not restore him to health, and he became blind. A retrospective exhibition of his work was held in 1886. He died at Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1887.

In 1978 Editions Geoffroy-Dechaume published Les Maitres du XIX Siecle: Bonvin, Professor Gabriel Weisberg's critical analysis on the life and work of the artist.

More Artworks by François Bonvin (View all 38 Artworks)

Harengs sur un gril

Harengs sur un gril

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
L’Ecureuse

L’Ecureuse (1873)

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
Still life

Still life (1871)

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
The Stretcher Bearer (Study for ‘Le Couvreur tombé’)

The Stretcher Bearer (Study for ‘Le Couvreur tombé’) (1876)

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
Boat on a Beach, Le Tréport

Boat on a Beach, Le Tréport (1854)

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
Nature morte à la citrouille

Nature morte à la citrouille (1851)

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
Guitar Player

Guitar Player (1861)

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
Le déjeuner ou le bol de café

Le déjeuner ou le bol de café (1879)

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
Water Carrier Seated on His Yoke

Water Carrier Seated on His Yoke (1861)

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
Standing Peasant Girl

Standing Peasant Girl (1847)

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
Self-Portrait

Self-Portrait (1846–1847)

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
Composition au panier de reines-claudes, aux biscuits et au verre de vin

Composition au panier de reines-claudes, aux biscuits et au verre de vin

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
Still Life with Oysters

Still Life with Oysters (c.1860-1870)

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
Le cochon (cour de charcutier)

Le cochon (cour de charcutier) (1874)

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
La Brodeuse

La Brodeuse (1845)

François Bonvin (French, 1817-1887)
Load MoreLoading...
View all 38 Artworks

0 Artworks
Follow
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Favourite
Collect

Standard, JPG, Size:

Download

Max Size, JPG, Size:

Download
License: All public domain files can be freely used for personal and commercial projects.
Why is this image in the public domain?
  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Contact us
Artvee.com 2024 All Rights Reserved
We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. By browsing this website, you agree to our use of cookies.
More info Accept
  • Sign in
  • Browse
    • Abstract
    • Figurative
    • Landscape
    • Religion
    • Mythology
    • Posters
    • Drawings
    • Illustration
    • Still Life
    • Animals
    • Botanical
    • Asian Art
  • Artists
  • Books
  • Explore
    • Topics
    • Culture
    • Movements
  • Highlights
  • Collections
  • Galleries
  • Artvee Pro