Description:
Charles Billon (mentioned in Paris from 1897-1910), a lesser-known Swiss artist born in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Mentioned in Paris from 1897-1910, where he exhibited at the Salon Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts from 1897-1910. He mainly painted portraits, but his work also included genre scenes and landscapes.

Description of the painting:
A shapely head with elongated features emerges from a small portrait painted with free brush strokes. The barely marked, brown background allows the focus to be drawn to the bright face of the young boy. The modest clothing almost blends in with the surrounding, revealing a triangle of white shirt corresponding to the whites of the model’s eyes. The light coming from the right side, illuminating the rosy cheek, at the same time hides the other part of the face in the shadows, enhancing the expression of the portrait.

An extraordinary look of dark eyes stares into the space beyond the image with great focus, as if the model did not want to miss a thing of what was being observed. Shapely, full lips also express seriousness and concentration. They are slightly parted, as if the person portrayed wanted to say something, but hesitated. The blush on the cheek and the intense, attentive gaze of the shining eyes reveal strong emotions in the seemingly peaceful figure.

Frequently appearing in the work of Swiss painter Charles Billon, the portrait studies demonstrate his artistic explorations. It was not just his aim to capture the likeness of the portrayed but also to capture the emotions and inner experiences. To this end, in the study under discussion, Billon used the chiaroscuro contrast and a restricted range of colors, while focusing attention on the face of the portrayed. One can read many emotions from it, such as anxiety, confusion and determination mixed with a visible fatigue in the underlined eyes.