3-002-783 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Lawyer Going to Court, c1860. A lawyer walks up a wind-blown street, presumably in the artist's native town of Senlis in north-central France. Although he specialized in allegorical paintings, such as "Daydreams," Couture urged his pupils to select subjects drawn from contemporary life. In this scene, the choice of subject and the spontaneity of treatment recall the works of Honoré Daumier (1809-79). The painting also demonstrates the artist's use of exposed areas of white, primed canvas to lend texture and immediacy to his technique.