’The Lesson’ monogram
‘Misdirection’ Technique
The monogram is cleverly built into the composition and execution of brush-strokes of the artists only purely figural painting.
Jeanne has her back to us, her clothes hang loosely and her hair is untidy around her neck.
The ‘glare effect’ of lighting on the right-side of the painting weakens concentration on the figure.
She appears to be a ‘prop’ in the composition and as such, Sisley carefully places his’unobtrusive’ monogram in her hairline.
The ‘focus’ is Pierre. His exquisite pose is matched by the crispness of his clothing and carefully groomed hair.
Even his chair is meticulously painted.The interior of the room is viewed at a subtle angle, drawing attention to the space allocated to Pierre. ‘ The Lesson ‘ appears to be a portrait of him in a family setting.
’Camouflage’ Technique
’A’ and ’S’ are aligned with the curvature of Jeanne’s head.
The all-important optical separation of the 'A’ and 'S’ is achieved by the colour differentiation and exercution of brushstrokes.
Colors
’A’ and the ’dot’ are painted in dark brown to match the brown hue (on this side of Jeanne’s head).
Top part of the ’S’ is painted in green to stand-out against the orange-reddish hue (on this side of Jeanne’s head). Green + Red is a complimentary pairing in Color Theory.
Middle and lower parts of the ’S’ are painted in a light brown.
Brushstrokes
The thick strokes of the ’A’ are cleverly matched in the rendering of untidy strands of hair (on this side of Jeanne’s head).
The light brown of the 'S’ is rendered in thin strokes.
The large daub of red paint above Jeanne’s head draws attention away from the location of the monogram. Comparison : JMW Turner’s red buoy in 'Helvoetsluys’.
Viewing of 'The Lesson’ monogram
For the viewing ”test” the capital ’A’ has a basic 3 stroke construction (left stroke, right stroke and horizontal cross-bar).
The capital ’A’ in 'The Footbridge’ Monogram has an extremely low cross-bar. Sisley allows himself a 'typographical license’ to effect the fusing of the initials in the flow of water.
See page: Third Monogram?
Portrait of Jeanne Sisley ©1875
In all probability, it will never be known if Renoir passed the viewing test and saw the unobtrusive monogram. The intimate portrait captures Jeanne’s precocious confidence. In an obvious comparison with her brother in 'The Lesson’, she must have found her portrait unsettling and questioned this with her parents.
For the acceptance and enjoyment of 'The Lesson’ painting in the family life of the Sisley’s, Renoir’s portrait was ”pivotal” (1).
Sisley kept 'The Lesson’ and his close friends portrait of his daughter, all his life.
See Pages:
Portrait of Jeanne Sisley ©1875
Origin of 'The Lesson’ monogram
(1) Inside this room, Sisley and Renoir’s artistic friendship was put on display in these private family paintings.
If Renoir’s portrait was the earlier work, it would have provided an opportunity for 'The Lesson’ monogram. If the later work, the portrait sitting could be made an occasion for Jeanne.