This canvas, entitled The Heirs, was the only piece Eugène Buland entered at the Salon in 1887 and illustrates the artist’s predilection for subjects taken from daily life in the countryside.
In this work, the artist focuses on a study of provincial behaviour, expressing the peaceful, quiet lifestyle and the impression of time standing still, reminiscent of the Le Nain brothers in the 17th century. Similarly to Maupassant, Buland tells short stories, novels. The strange ambiguity of the scene here is striking. The tight frame reinforces the stifling atmosphere of this private meeting in which the stone-faced characters, deep in their own thoughts, wait for the testament to be read. The perfectly-organised planes enclose the models inside an orthogonal-shaped space. The touches of red contrast with the dark austere colours and direct our eye towards the open coffer, seals, the official banner and finally the will, the focus of everyone’s attention.
Freeing himself from the teachings of his master Alexandre Cabanel, Buland became influenced in naturalism. He was concerned with the detail and drawing inspired by photographic precision which made him a rare artist and a hyperrealist ahead of his time.