# In the Wings

**Jean Louis Forain** (French, 1852–1931)  
1899  
Oil on canvas  
60.5 × 73.8 cm (23 3/16 × 29 1/16 in.); Framed: 82.6 × 95.6 × 11.5 cm (32 1/2 × 37 5/8 × 4 1/2 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.1118. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/159770).

## About this work

Jean Louis Forain painted this in 1899, aged 47. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

A work made of oil on canvas.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Jean Louis Forain](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/jean-louis-forain)

French, 1852–1931

Forain was a friend and follower of Degas and showed in four of the Impressionist exhibitions. He became best known as a caricaturist, contributing incisive drawings to the Paris press that mocked the bourgeoisie, the courts and politics, often with sharp captions. His paintings and pastels return to Degas’s subjects – backstage at the opera, the racecourse, the café – and his later work turned to courtroom and religious themes.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: France
- The artist was 47
- Real size: about 24 × 29 in (60 × 73 cm). The 20 × 30 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Subjects: Century of Progress, status, wealth, social, French, Paris, France, costume
- Colour: black
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/341.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/341/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/in-the-wings-aic-159770).