Jean-François RAFFAELLI (1850-1924) - Lot 119

Lot n° 119
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Estimation :
15000 - 20000 EUR
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Result : 19 200EUR
Jean-François RAFFAELLI (1850-1924) - Lot 119
Jean-François RAFFAELLI (1850-1924) The weary ragpicker Oil on paper mounted on panel Signed lower left and dated "79". 52.5 x 37.5 cm Provenance : Private collection The Comité Brame et Lorenceau has confirmed the authenticity of this work, which will be included in the artist's computerized critical catalog currently in preparation. A certificate of authenticity will be given to the buyer. Oil on paper mounted on panel, signed lower left and dated "79", 20.4 x 14.5 in In this work, Le chiffonnier éreinté (1879), Jean-François Raffaëlli plunges us into the world of the little people of Paris and its suburbs at the end of the 19th century, a world the artist knows and chooses to represent with realism and empathy. At the center of the composition, a worn-out old man sits on the ground. His bent posture, leaning on a cane with his hand resting on his lower back, reflects the accumulated fatigue of years of toil. Dressed in a ragged suit and dark hat, he sports a long beard that accentuates the impression of old age and weariness. At his feet, a worn-out jute bag, the ragpicker's indispensable companion, bears witness to his trade of collecting scraps and abandoned objects from the streets for resale. The lighter, more diffuse background contrasts with the dark, imposing figure of the ragpicker. Silhouettes at work and a draft horse stand out, suggesting the laborious daily life of a peasant and working-class world. This setting reinforces the idea that the ragpicker is an integral part of society, yet remains on its bangs. True to his naturalist aesthetic, Raffaëlli makes no attempt to idealize his subject, painting the harshness of life, poverty, but also the dignity of a hard-working man despite his exhaustion. With this painting, the artist takes both a social and an artistic approach: giving visibility to those ignored by society, while inscribing his art in a meticulous observation of reality. In this way, Raffaëlli offers us a poignant image of ordinary misery, but one imbued with a universal human truth.
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