The Cornet (Le cornet à pistons)

From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record

Painted around 1880 in a small village near the forest of Fontainebleau, this portrait of a horn player captures a traditional form of provincial entertainment. He was a member of the Fanfare de Bois-le-Roi, a local brass band that played outdoor concerts. The instrument he’s playing, a cornet, became popular in the nineteenth century. Over the course of his long career, Bail built a reputation as a leading painter of realist themes. At a time of extraordinary innovation and change, he dedicated his artistic life to recording rustic scenes and customs in France’s rural villages. Europe