Art-Muenier-The Catechism Lesson TB

This trackable is unusual for its longevity. In the five-year period, 2010-14, the owner released a total of 1710 trackables in the United States (96%) and Europe (4%). This trackable is one of the 5% of the total that circulated for at least 5 years and had been moved at least 25 times.  That is a rate of at least five drops per year for five years, or a drop every 73 days.  As of 31-May-20, this particular trackable had survived for 6.9 years and had been moved by 62 cachers, for an averaged release every 63 days. How far can it get?  Keep it moving!

No permission is needed to leave the U.S.  While in the U.S., please drop it in a Premium Member only OR a rural cache near a busy trail or road. Do not place it in an urban cache or abandon it at a caching event where there is no security.  Transport the bug in the original plastic bag for as long as the bag lasts; the bag keeps the trackable clean, protects the number and prevents tangling with other items.  Otherwise, take the trackable anywhere you wish.

Trackable photos are appreciated and will be re-posted here.

This is one of a series of travel bugs made to recognize paintings seen, and admired by the bug owner. A digital copy of this painting was downloaded from the internet. The copy was reduced in size and proportions cropped to accommodate the laminating materials available to the owner. Regrettably these processes diminish the effort of the artist. One truly must see the original in person to fully appreciate the work. The text below is a mixture of my own observations and material gleaned from the internet (mostly Wikipedia and Web Gallery).

Jules Alexis Muenier (1863-1942) was a French academic painter and photographer.  With the introduction of photography as a method of capturing the daily life of people many artists felt that their livelihood would suffer.  However, Muenier would become one of the leading proponents for the use of photography, as a method of creating studies, to add important details to the final works.  This painting, The Catechism Lesson (in French, La Leçon de Catéchisme), was seen in the Musee D'Orsay, in Paris, in October 2012.  It shows one boy reciting his lesson to the rural priest, two girls predictably listening and studying and a second boy ignoring all but the flowers behind the bench.  This painting made me smile.