John Lewis Brown with Wife and Daughter

Depicted here is the Irish artist John Lewis Brown (1829-1890) with his wife and daughter. The offset figures caught spontaneously and photographically in movement are redolent of a modern-life scene, which was especially appreciated in the best spirit of the Belle Époque.
The ironic almost caricatural tone of this work, so much like Giovanni Boldini and also recognisable in the work of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, also reinforces the expressivity of the people and the exuberance of the main figure. The capturing of the moment, in which the suggestion of improvisation is essential, gives the painting an intentionally informal and mundane character.
This work, a modern document representing urban life at the turn of the century, is also surprising for its chromatic restraint, the only reference to the space being the frieze that extends from the left. A contrasting but solitary point of colour, the ribbon of the Legion of Honour on John Lewis Brown’s lapel, stresses the vivacity and joy that his face conveys. This painting was successfully exhibited at the 1890 Salon, the year in which the artist depicted died.