Soap Bubbles, ca. 1859, Oil on canvas, 51 1/2 x 38 5/8 in. (130. 8 x 98. 1 cm), Paintings, Thomas Couture (French, Senlis 1815?1879 Villiers-le-Bel), A schoolboy, identifiable by the books on the desk, contemplates soap bubbles, traditional symbols of the transience of life. A wilting laurel wreath on the wall behind him suggests the fleeting nature of praise and honors