The Meeting Canvas Print

The Meeting, 1884, oil on canvas, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France

By Easter 1883 Marie had decided to paint six boys, life-size, standing on the street corner, the tallest, his back turned, holds a nest, while the others look on in various attitudes. Jules Bastein-Lepage thinks the concept is good but offers advice on the background. Saturday, May 12, 1883: “I spent the morning at the studio and begged Julian to come see the boys. He came to dinner. The canvas had to be brought from the orphanage. The boys, 6 of them, with the tall one seen from the back, showing them what he has in his hand. In the distance 2 or 3 little girls walking away. Julian insists I remove the street lamp in the left-hand corner. He’s right. He likes the rest and thinks it’s amusing, original, sure to have a success.” Her painting "The Meeting" was accepted into the 1884 Salon. At the opening she overheard someone say, “There’s a very good Bastien-Lepage in there signed Bashkirtseff.”