French painting with lots of detail

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ta0
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French painting with lots of detail

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This is a painting by French artist Charles Bertrand d'Entraygues (1850 -1929), "School boys playing with spinning tops in the classroom" (I could not find the French name):

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I love it because of all the detail. You can see how the pegtop is wrapped with the string (exactly the same as we do), how the top is held for the overhand throw (tip pointing to the inside, like we do), the two tops lying on the circle as targets, and a top spinning on the hand. If you look at the high-resolution image of the painting, the string that the boy with the top on the hand is holding has a little loop on one end: my guess it goes around the finger. The fact that he is holding the string at the middle with the left hand tells me that he did not boomerang the top but that he scooped it from the ground. The string hanging from the boy wrapping the top also might have a loop an the end of the string. The pegtops have narrow and high crowns. The tip of the top that is been thrown might have a neck but, unfortunately, it's not very clear.

I could not find the exact date it was made. D'entraygues painted many children scenes during his career. He apparently used a lot his family, including his children on the paintings. Could these be the three top spinning boys?

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In that case, the painting would be from the early 1880s.
Last edited by ta0 on Wed Apr 12, 2023 9:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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ortwin
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Re: French painting with lots of detail

Post by ortwin »

This easily becomes my favorite spintop related painting for now!
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peonza
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Re: French painting with lots of detail

Post by peonza »

Precioso cuadro. Un reflejo dea qué jugaban los niños en el colegio.
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Ludo
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Re: French painting with lots of detail

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Last edited by Ludo on Sat Apr 22, 2023 5:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: French painting with lots of detail

Post by ta0 »

Ha! That second painting from d'Entraygues has what appears to be the same two older boys dressed the same way. In addition, the one looking upon action on the ground has the same beret as the third boy, so he's also probably the same. I bet they are the painter's three sons on the photo.

The way the oldest boy is holding the top looks less realistic, but at this resolution it's difficult to tell.

It was sold at an auction in Barcelona in 2017, with the title simply: Boys playing with tops (Niños jugando a peonzas). The oil on canvas is 38x56 cm.
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peonza
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Re: French painting with lots of detail

Post by peonza »

Wow very good paintings.

I try to look for more information on the internet about these paintings but nothing more.
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