Aleksander Gierymski: “A Boy in the Sun”
In the last period of his work, the artist’s paintings were clearly influenced by Impressionism, but at the same time he did not abandon his traditional Realist craft
A Boy In Sunshine/ A Boy Carrying a Sheaf (c. 1895) by Aleksander Gierymski (1850–1901)National Museum in Wrocław
The figure in the painting
The painter used Realist painting techniques in some parts of the figure.
The face
The boy’s face is painted in a very subtle way, with a smooth finish, following academic rules, and the light reflecting off the red shirt and the ground gives it a specific warm tone.
The outfit
For the boy’s outfit, Gierymski uses a fairly wide stain with a smooth finish.
Field and the sheaf
The artist painted both elements with a technique used by the French Impressionists, which entails painting with thickly laid paint stains of pure colors.
The sheaf
The sheaf is actually a straw man with the grain threshed, protecting against the sun.
By using this technical device, the painter evocatively rendered the mood of a hot summer’s day, and the relationships between colors, air, and bright sunlight at midday.
The painting was created during the artist’s stay in Kraków, which lasted nearly a year, and was undoubtedly based on his study of nature.
Using the study of Włodzimierz Tetmajer in Bronowice near Kraków, Gierymski painted, in addition to "A Boy", a famous painting "Peasant Coffin" (currently part of the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw).
It is likely that soon after being painted, A Boy in the Sun ended up in the collection of Count Ignacy Korwin Milewski (1846–1926), an eminent collector and owner of around 30 Gierymski’s canvases.
A Boy in the Sun (Chłopiec w słońcu):
▪️ Painter: Aleksander Gierymski
▪️ Date created: 1893–1894
▪️ Technique: oil on canvas
▪️ Dimensions: height 3.08 × 2.52 ft (94 × 77 cm) width
▪️ Trend/style: modern art classed as Realism, open air
Sławomir Ortyl | Szymon Puchała
