School Teaching, a Teacher with Four Pupils 1656 - 1725

Pasquale de' Rossi painted this oil on canvas, “School Teaching, a Teacher with Four Pupils,” sometime between 1670 and 1725. It depicts a small class of young boys being taught, possibly geometry, by a single instructor. This image gives us a glimpse into the world of education in late 17th-century Italy. Note how different it looks from our contemporary classrooms. De’ Rossi was working in a culture that still clung to traditional forms of instruction. The small size of the class suggests private tutoring, a privilege for the wealthy. The attitude of the teacher is also striking. He looks world-weary, a far cry from the enthusiastic educators we expect today. Historical investigation into how schools and educators were funded at this time will help us to understand how education was understood as a public good. The archives of religious orders may also prove helpful here. Ultimately, the meaning of this painting is tied to the social and institutional contexts in which it was produced and consumed.