L'Enfant à la Lampe c. 1897

Editor: So, here we have Pierre Bonnard’s "L'Enfant à la Lampe," a lithograph from around 1897 currently at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. There's such a strong feeling of domesticity, but almost to the point of feeling claustrophobic – the lamp is huge, and really close to the child. What's your interpretation of it? Curator: Well, beyond the intimacy suggested by Intimism, consider what Bonnard is doing with the public image of childhood. He’s exhibiting this very private scene in a public institution, the art museum. In an era with shifting social norms and the rise of mass media, genre scenes took on new meanings when displayed so deliberately. Editor: That's an interesting point! I hadn't considered that presenting this kind of domestic moment in a museum would be that… transgressive, for lack of a better word. Curator: Transgressive is too strong. But how does he subtly reinforce societal values regarding children, privacy and comfort, especially through the use of a very new device like electric lighting? Editor: I suppose by normalizing it. It shows a privileged scene, that middle-class existence, using new technologies… What about his technique, the way he used the lithographic crayon almost sketchily, rather than making a highly polished image? Curator: Exactly. And that sketchiness plays directly into his marketing. How is he trying to market and perhaps sanitize Parisian middle-class family life? To what extent are his clients likely buying not merely a pleasing image but a simulacrum of “the good life?” Editor: Right. This artwork has certainly challenged my perception of impressionism; there’s a political element here that I totally missed initially! Curator: Indeed. Seeing art as inherently intertwined with historical, social and institutional contexts always adds more to the experience.