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Soap Bubbles

ca. 1859
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 827

A schoolboy, identifiable by the books on the desk, contemplates soap bubbles, traditional symbols of the transience of life. A wilting laurel wreath on the wall behind him suggests the fleeting nature of praise and honors. The word "immortalité," inscribed on the paper inserted in the mirror, reinforces the painting’s allegorical content.

Couture was an influential teacher known for his opposition to strict academic instruction. Among his pupils was Manet, who in 1867 painted his own, more naturalistic, version of this subject (Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Soap Bubbles
  • Artist: Thomas Couture (French, Senlis 1815–1879 Villiers-le-Bel)
  • Date: ca. 1859
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 51 1/2 x 38 5/8 in. (130.8 x 98.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Bequest of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, 1887
  • Object Number: 87.15.22
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

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Interior of a Church, Thomas Couture French, Black chalk, heightened with white
Interior of a Church
Thomas Couture
1877
Lawyer on His Way to Court (Se Rendant à l'Audience), Thomas Couture French, Black chalk
Lawyer on His Way to Court (Se Rendant à l'Audience)
Thomas Couture
1830–79
Study for the decoration of the ceiling of the Opéra Comique, Thomas Couture French, Black chalk on blue paper mounted on cardboard
Study for the decoration of the ceiling of the Opéra Comique
Thomas Couture
ca. 1857
Study for "The Enrollment of the Volunteers of 1792", Thomas Couture French, Black chalk on gray paper
Study for "The Enrollment of the Volunteers of 1792"
Thomas Couture
ca. 1848–51
Study for “The Enrollment of the Volunteers of 1792”, Thomas Couture French, Fabricated black chalk
Study for “The Enrollment of the Volunteers of 1792”
Thomas Couture
1848

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