Jehan Georges Vibert Reproductions
1840 - 1902 France, Academic Classicism
The Reprimand
Oil on panel, 13 5/8 x 11 1/8 inches (34.9 x 28.5 cm)
Private collection Figurative Art
From 1866-67 Vibert turned towards genre scenes that fully established his reputation among the leading artists of the period ( The Reprimand, The Serenade, Un Secret d'Etat, The Duet. Eugène Montrosier wrote of Vibert that (quoted in Eric Zafrans Cavaliers and Cardinals: Nineteenth Century French Anecdotal Paintings, ex. cat., Cincinnati: Taft Museum, 1992, pg. 15):
Not being able to bring the amateurs to his doors, he resolved to follow their tastes, and in 1867 he boarded the genre as bravely as he had the grand style, and with much more tangible success.
The most widely known of these genre scenes of Vibert were those of the clergy members; satirized beyond what would have been accepted in any other earlier period in France. But at this point in French history, contempt for the clergy had grown to such a level that these humorous attacks were accepted. Clergy members were often shown as mockingly decadent figures, captured at play with one another, sitting lazily in their chair and laughing, playing an instrument, and partaking in many other activities that had little to do with the religion that they were professing; the pictures were made more poignant with Viberts vibrant use of red and inclusion of the smallest detail to give the composition a unique sense of veracity.
