Jacques Godefroy de Tonnancour 1917 - 2005

Private Collection, Port Hope

Jacques Godefroy de Tonnancour’s La Couventine elicits a contemplative, reflective tone. Situated within an ambiguous setting demarcated only by a slate-coloured background and scarlet floor, his youthful pupil is captured deep in thought, her hands clasped and dark eyes unfocused. Though she stands right in front of us, given her pensive expression, she seems far away, unknowable. With finely-wrought hands clasped tightly, she betrays a sense of maturity beyond her years. One might imagine de Tonnancour meant to entice his viewer to similar introspection, to speculate what concerns, what dreams occupy his subject’s mind—and perhaps to attempt to recall our own worries and hopes during our adolescent years.