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Jean-François RAFFAELLI (1850-1924)
The weary ragpicker
Oil …
See original version (French)
Jean-François RAFFAELLI (1850-1924)
The weary ragpicker
Oil …
See original version (French)
Lot no. 119
Description
Jean-François RAFFAELLI (1850-1924)
The weary ragpicker
Oil on paper mounted on panel
Signed lower left and dated "79".
52.5 x 37.5 cm
Provenance :
Private collection
The Brame et Lorenceau Committee has confirmed the authenticity of this work, which will be included in the artist's computerised critical catalogue currently in preparation.
A certificate of authenticity will be given to the buyer.
Oil on paper mounted on panel, signed lower left and dated "79", 20.4 x 14.5 in
In this work, Le chiffonnier éreinté (1879), Jean-François Raffaëlli plunges us into the world of the little people of Paris and its suburbs at the end of the 19th century, a world that the artist knew and chose to represent with realism and empathy.
In the centre of the composition, an old man, worn out by life, sits on the ground. His stooped posture, leaning on a cane with his hand resting on his lower back, reflects the accumulated fatigue of years of toil. Dressed in a ragged suit and dark hat, he sports a long beard that accentuates the impression of old age and weariness. At his feet, a worn-out jute bag, the ragpicker's indispensable companion, bears witness to his trade of collecting scraps and abandoned objects from the streets for resale.
The lighter, more diffuse background contrasts with the dark, imposing figure of the ragpicker. Silhouettes at work and a draught horse can be made out, suggesting the laborious daily life of a peasant and working-class world. This setting reinforces the idea that the ragpicker is an integral part of society, yet remains on its fringes.
Raffaëlli, true to his naturalist aesthetic, makes no attempt to idealise his subject; he paints the harshness of life, the poverty, but also the dignity of a hard-working man despite his exhaustion. With this painting, the artist is taking both a social and an artistic approach: giving visibility to those whom society ignores, while at the same time inscribing his art in a meticulous observation of reality. In this way, Raffaëlli offers us a poignant image of ordinary misery, but one imbued with a universal human truth.
See original version (French)
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