Louis Boilly

Watermark: none.
This study of a man, with his hat and coat set aside and his vest open as he leans wearily on two boxes, is part of Boilly's preparations for “The Movings” (Les Déménagements), a painting that Boilly exhibited in the Salon of 1822 (now in the Art Institute of Chicago, acc. no. 1982.494). The scene depicts a street in Paris on a warm day during which several families, unable to afford their rent, are packing their belongings to head in search of new lodgings. While Boilly used a young model for this study, the painting depicts an older man pausing for a moment as he loads a wagon. Boilly's scene captures the tension of urban living and also the chaos and messiness of being compelled to find new quarters. At left in the background is a church, a replica of Santa Maria dei Miracoli in Rome, alluding to the inhabitants moving away from the Roman church as well.
The painting was a success and a print after the composition was made by Jean-Henri Marlet. A large watercolor sketch of the entire scene is in the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille (acc. no. PL1110), and the Musée Cognacq-Jay, Paris, preserves a small replica in oils made by the artist in 1840 (acc. no. 8).