Boy Reading (Jeune Garçon Lisant)

Born into a large and very poor family, François Bonvin joined the Parisian police department as a clerk to support his new wife and child, saving money for art classes in his time off. This powerful drawing suggests the importance of education to improve one’s station and justifies Bonvin’s reputation as the father of Realist drawing. In fact, the subject is not actually reading, but is rather thinking, with a work of art on the wall behind him.