Valér
ágyban
circa 1888
There is something vaguely familiar with
this oil painting. The gentle colours and the unbalanced layout remind one of Jean-Édouard Vuillard’s Entrance to the Garden
(circa 1903), or his Seamstress with Scraps
(circa 1893). Both pictures involve a soft patterned wallpaper set into the
background (to give the eye an area on which to rest without distraction), as well as a figure who appears bent over in
concentration, not acknowledging the viewer. Ferenczy’s young boy, by contrast, actually faces the viewer but remains in his own world, perhaps in a land
of fairy tales judging by the large picture book that dwarfs his small head.
The delicate porcelain cow on his side table reflects the daylight on its shiny
hide, and its white lustre acts as a small continuation of the whiteness
surrounding Valér, like a puff of cloud. Set near the window a similar clump of
white is found in Seamstress with Scraps,
giving the scene a sense of the outdoors by allowing the sunlight to warm a
large portion of the seamstress' interior workspace.
Notice that the receding
position of Valér’s bed guides the viewer’s eye into the back corridor,
focusing on the second strong source of outdoor light. Entirely wooden, this
interior is made soft by the warm colours of the well-worn carpet and by the
plushness of the child’s sheets. Like a tram car, his bed seems to be creeping
out the picture frame at a gathering speed, about to enter the land that only
children know how to enjoy.
