Boy in Blue Jacket, 1913

Seen from slightly above, the artist portrays the Body in Blue Jacket in profile in this painting of 1913. Hans Böhler (1884–1961) probably met his model on one of the several travels of Japan, China, or North and South America he made between 1910 and 1914. The painting looks like a snapshot trying to convey without prettifying the mood and personality of the boy portrayed. He looks tiredly to the side, out of the picture space. Böhler envelops him in the half-dark of the room like in an aura. Had he been invited to the child’s home? His works were frequently described as exceptionally lighthearted. This one, though, is imbued with a certain gloominess and melancholy.

RR, 2021