Cleveland Museum of Art

The Curious One

Antoine Pierre Mongin

Date

1823

Medium

oil on paper mounted to canvas

Culture

France, 19th century

Department

Modern European Painting and Sculpture

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Here a young man uses a ladder to climb over a garden wall. The sign at his right translates into "School for Young Ladies under the Direction of Mrs. Wachsam"— wachsam being the German word for "watchful." Apparently, overcome by curiosity, the man cannot resist his desire to see the young women concealed behind the wall. Scenes with amorous, sometimes voyeuristic overtones are common in the work of Mongin. The artist also seems fascinated with depicting the exact details of his settings. In 1824, a critic who saw The Curious One wrote that Mongin's paintings are "portraits of houses coated in plaster, garden trees, almost trivial details, and this pleases me greatly. Full of naiveté, this is what I need in a landscape, as in a representation of man's actions." The critic's comments clearly demonstrate his appreciation for Mongin's work, as well as the artist's belief in the inherent relationship between nature and man.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.