The Painter Brown and His Family

The Painter Brown and His Family, also known as The Painter John Lewis Brown with His Wife and Daughter, is an oil on canvas painting by the Italian painter Giovanni Boldini, from 1890. It is held at the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, in Lisbon.

The Painter Brown and His Family
Artist	Giovanni Boldini
Year	1890
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	120 cm × 145 cm (47 in × 57 in)
Location	Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon

History

This triple portrait depicts the French painter and engraver John Lewis Brown, from Bordeaux, of Scottish origin, in the center, surrounded by his wife and daughter. Brown was known for his battle scenes and his animal paintings of dogs and horses. This painting was exhibited at the Salon of French Artists of 1890, where it was noticed by the public and critics, few months before the death of Brown.

Description and analysis

At first glance, everything suggests that this is an exterior scene. The happy faces, the coats and the hats are captured in movement and offset from each other. The painting seems to give the impression that it shows the sitters during a walk. The central character, bantering, seems to be looking to the painter, as if he was passing by him in the middle of the street. However, the molding on the left indicates that the scene actually takes place indoors, probably in Boldini's workshop. Brown is smiling, and his wife is at his right side, also smiling to the viewer, while is daughter is depicted, at his left. She smiles too but doesn't look directly to the viewer, unlike her parents.

The painting surprises with its chromatic sobriety, in brown and black tones, where some luminous points stand out, from the looks, the Legion of Honor ribbon that is on the lapel of Brown's jacket and the white spot under his arm, probably a crumpled newspaper. Brushed in a few zigzag brushstrokes, this painting is striking for its joyful main character outlined in the middle of the canvas.