Karl Joseph Geiger (Austrian, 1822-1905) Infant Academy

Description:

Karl Joseph Geiger (Austrian, 1822-1905)

Infant Academy
Signed and dated "KARL GEIGER 1863" l.l.
Oil on canvas, 37 x 61 in. (94.0 x 155.0 cm),framed.
Condition: Lined, craquelure, canvas deformation, surface grime.

N.B. The subject matter of children engaged in adult artistic pursuits, which has become known as "Infant Academies," flourished in the mid-18th century. The motif is most familiar to us today through Sir Joshua Reynolds's painting, Children, 1782, and the subsequent print titled The Infant Academy, in which infants play the roles of portrait artist, sitter, and observers. In the painting at hand, the theme is expanded to include children in pursuit of the fine arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture. The implications of the infant academies are varied, at times comic or satirical, other times suggesting the artist's need to reclaim childlike freshness to nurture their creative vision.
Estimate $3,000-5,000

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