Tuesday, July 31, 2018

The Committee on Moral Books

Jehan-Georges Vibert, "The Committee on Moral Books"
Brush and Pencil magazine from 1902 said of Vibert: 
"There is a certain element of irreverence in the art-loving public of France, and the piquancy, even audacity, of the artist’s treatment of the clergy was relished....With an intimate knowledge of human nature Vibert combines a surprising acquaintance with historical detail, and his pictures, therefore, radiant with light and brilliant with color, are as faithful to historic verity as it is possible to make them. In this regard he has been likened aptly to Meissonier, who in his costume pieces studied to make them absolute transcripts of the times from which his incidents were taken."

5 comments:

Steve said...

Always love these paintings of Vibert. The hypocritical delight on the faces is wonderful, as is that shadowy figure in the background. Thanks, James!

RotM_81 said...

Many of Vibert's paintings are masterpieces in so many ways, and this one is no exception!

Susan Krzywicki said...

The cardinal seems to be not so much pompously judgmental and disdaining, as having a fun time. He looks very modern, too. As if he could be sitting in a Barnes & Noble and laughing at a kid's book.

James Gurney said...

Steve, thanks for mentioning the guy on the stairs. I didn’t see him at first.

ROTM81, I agree. So many things to admire in Vibert’s paintings.

Susan, yes, he sees the humanity in these guys, as well as hypocrisy, which perhaps explains why his work was even popular among the clergy.

RotM_81 said...

Is there anywhere online to view ultra-high resolution scans of his paintings? A lot of what I've found is poor quality (less than 2000 pixels wide).