Jean-Augustin Franquelin
French, 1798–1839
Reading to the Convalescent
c. 1827
In this tender scene, a young couple, presumably husband and wife, sit together in a well-appointed room. Pale and weak, the woman holds the man’s hand and leans against his shoulder as he reads aloud. The third figure, perhaps the ailing woman’s mother, also listens attentively to the reading. Franquelin specialized in such scenes of domestic life, which often hint at a moral message.
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 24 1/8 x 19 13/16 in. (61.3 x 50.4 cm) Frame: 34 3/8 x 30 1/4 x 3 in. (87.3 x 76.8 x 7.6 cm) |
| Object Number | 1955.740 |
| Acquisition | Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955 |
| Status | Off View |
Image Caption
Jean-Augustin Franquelin, Reading to the Convalescent, c. 1827, oil on canvas. Clark Art Institute, 1955.740
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EUROPEAN PAINTINGS CATALOGUE ENTRY
Provenance
Alexandre du Sommerard, Paris (by 1827); [Moyon, Paris, by 1837, his sale, Pierret, Paris, 16–20 Jan. 1838, no. 364]; [Neuville & Vivien, Paris, sold to Clark, 10 Mar. 1931, as La lecture à la convalescente]; Robert Sterling Clark (1931–55); Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1955.
