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Rondel was born in Paris in 1826. He came to America in the 1850s and joined the National Academy of Design as a lecturer in 1861. Rondel is best remembered being the only art teacher of Winslow Homer (who was mostly self-taught) while he attended classes at the National Academy of Design between 1861-63. The sculpture Rondel depicts in the background is one of John Rogers’ “Rogers Groups”, entitled Wounded to the Rear, One More Shot, depicting injured Union soldiers. Rogers’ sculptures were popular additions to Victorian interiors, and this particular sculpture continued to be sold and produced long after the Civil War ended.
Artist
Frederic Rondel
(1826 - 1892)
Boy & Dog in Victorian Parlor
Date1869
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsFramed: 16 1/4 × 12 3/4 × 1 in. (41.3 × 32.4 × 2.5 cm)
Sight: 15 7/8 × 12 1/2 in. (40.3 × 31.8 cm)
Object numberN0448.1961
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of Stephen C. Clark
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextIn this small scene, a young boy, dog, and cat are depicted in a well-appointed Victorian parlor. The boy has been caught in the act of moving his mother’s embroidery hoop off a chair. Dogs in art are often symbols of guidance, fidelity, and faithfulness while cats when accompanied by children are symbols of innocence. Boys oftentimes in genre paintings are found in playful, mischievous moments. In this scene, the boy’s self-assured posture, along with his impish smirk does just that, depicting him in the midst of a willful act of misbehaving. Rondel was born in Paris in 1826. He came to America in the 1850s and joined the National Academy of Design as a lecturer in 1861. Rondel is best remembered being the only art teacher of Winslow Homer (who was mostly self-taught) while he attended classes at the National Academy of Design between 1861-63. The sculpture Rondel depicts in the background is one of John Rogers’ “Rogers Groups”, entitled Wounded to the Rear, One More Shot, depicting injured Union soldiers. Rogers’ sculptures were popular additions to Victorian interiors, and this particular sculpture continued to be sold and produced long after the Civil War ended.
On View
Not on view
c. 1948
