The Geography Lesson

The painting was presented in Turin at the Esposizione Nazionale di Torino in 1880 and later at the retrospective exhibition of Eleuterio Pagliano’s work held by the Milan Società per le Belle Arti ed Esposizione Permanente in 1903. The large size of the canvas and the close-up, three-quarter view of the figures distinguish this version of the subject from the numerous variants produced by the artist during the 1870s. Set in a monumental loggia overlooking the countryside, the scene shows two ladies in 18th-century costume sitting at a table and listening to a teacher, who is standing beside a globe pointing to faraway places with exotic associations. Differing greatly from Pagliano’s more committed and popular paintings on historical and literary subjects or episodes from the struggle for Italian independence and unification, this pleasant, undemanding work exemplifies the Rococo Revival style of genre painting, then in great demand on the art market, which the artist adopted in his mature period. While noting the extraordinary technical qualities of the painting and especially the harmonious blending of the palette, directly inspired by 18th-century models, the critics pointed out this departure from life studies on the part of Eleuterio Pagliano, a close companion of Domenico Morelli and one of the first artists to embrace Naturalism.