Thomas Eakins
After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Thomas Eakins returned to his native Philadelphia. Although he is considered one of the most important American artists of his time, he primarily built his reputation as a teacher at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Eakins insisted that his students paint directly from live models and believed in teaching male and female artists together. His work is recognized today for its commitment to unbiased realism and precise details.
Can you read body language in a painting?
The young man in The Courtship sits in a relaxed posture, visiting a young woman who is immersed in her spinning. Her intense concentration makes her seem almost self-contained, giving the scene a sense of quiet intimacy. Eakins demonstrated a strong sense of the woman’s absorption in her task, an interest in carefully plotted perspective, and a concern with evoking a nostalgic view of America’s simpler, homespun past.
Museum purchase, gift of Mrs. Herbert Fleishhacker, M. H. de Young, John McLaughlin, J. S. Morgan and Sons, and Miss Keith Wakeman, by exchange
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