The Harp Lesson

The Harp Lesson by Théodore-Joseph Geirnaert has quite a lot in common with a conversation piece or conversation picture. These terms are used for group portraits, which also depict a genre painting. A conversation picture does not recount an anecdote, but illustrates the relations between the characters and their surroundings in an informal atmosphere. The onlooker is invited as it…

The Harp Lesson by Théodore-Joseph Geirnaert has quite a lot in common with a conversation piece or conversation picture. These terms are used for group portraits, which also depict a genre painting. A conversation picture does not recount an anecdote, but illustrates the relations between the characters and their surroundings in an informal atmosphere. The onlooker is invited as it were to attend the harp lesson with the other family members and at the same time to admire the cultivated lifestyle as well as the modern Empire-style interior. This painting dates from the painter’s neo-Classicist period. He later concentrated on painting more popular scenes.