Penitence (1899)
Technique: Giclée quality print
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In this evocative artwork by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, titled "Penitence," viewers are drawn into a poignant moment between two figures in a modest village setting. The scene captures a woman, dressed in traditional attire with a simple bonnet and a floral scarf, engaging in a moment of apparent confession or spiritual counsel with a clergyman.The clergyman, clad in a classic black cassock with a white collar, listens attentively, his expression solemn and perhaps a bit weary. The interaction occurs at the threshold of a wooden doorway, indicating perhaps the entrance to his abode, which also serves as a subtle boundary between the private and the public, the secular and the sacred.The background reveals a glimpse of a rustic village, depicted with soft, muted tones that contrast with the more vivid coloring of the main subjects, suggesting the personal nature of the scene in contrast to the wider world. Steinlen’s use of texture and color enhances the emotional depth and narrative weight of the moment, inviting the viewer to reflect on themes of repentance, guidance, and the human condition.
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Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, was a Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker.
Born in Lausanne, Steinlen studied at the University of Lausanne before taking a job as a designer trainee at a textile mill in Mulhouse in eastern France. In his early twenties he was still developing his skills as a painter when he and his wife Emilie were encouraged by the painter François Bocion to move to the artistic community in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris. Once there, Steinlen was befriended by the painter Adolphe Willette who introduced him to the artistic crowd at Le Chat Noir that led to his commissions to do poster art for the cabaret owner/entertainer, Aristide Bruant and other commercial enterprises.