I turned up an image of the chromolithograph upon which this oil on canvas painting was based, and the painting is a fairly exacting likeness. And while I tend to like things very folky, in this case it is the faithfulness to the print, and especially to the specific, almost hyperreal colors of the chromolithograph process, that I think make it good, and interesting, and ground it in a very specific time period relative to the technology of image production. And embedded in it then too is the question of why make a painting when one could have a print?! And so, in a way, there's really a whole lot about art and art history and the nature of reproduction rolled up into this.
21" x 17", oil on canvas, c. 1890s. A few holes in the canvas, as detailed, which I rather like for puncturing its aspiration toward illusionism! The canvas needs a bit of re-securing along one short side--not presenting issues at present, the canvas is still flush and straight across the stretcher, but a couple of small nails or a bit of archival tape along the edge will keep it that way for the future.
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