Joan of Arc by Jules Bastien-Lepage (1879)
I’ve been lucky enough to spend a lot of my life living in NYC, which means access to some of the most amazing museums in the world, including (my favorite) The Met!! Who has this painting in their permanent collection, and (if I may say) a jpg with a much more accurate color scheme on their website.
And any time I post a painting I like to write a little why. Since first going to the Met this painting caught my eye. First off, it’s huge. It’s over 8 feet tall, but it’s not overwhelming. Your eyes naturally rest on Miss of Arc before exploring the rest of the painting. Her fixed expression, her rigid outstretched arm- it’s such a serene, natural setting but she seems so tense, making a powerful juxtaposition.
However, my favorite part was when I first noticed the figures in the background. They blend in so well through the tree branches and the house that you don’t notice them at first. It’s so subtle, but then you notice how the angel’s sword is pointing straight at the back of her head! That’s like, the opposite of subtle!
I wish I could take all of you to the Met on a field trip to see this painting in person. Then we could go eat hot dogs afterwords, it’d be awesome. Every time I go to the Met I make sure and look at it. The way the golds shine through the leaves on the tree- everything about this painting is perfect. It tells such a powerful story from a historical figure who’s life is boiled down to some simple facts- but this painting makes you think beyond that. Here Joan is an ordinary girl who has just seen something so extraordinary that she’s dropped her wool, and is staring with such intensity that always leaves me thinking: “What could she be thinking?”









