Alexandre Graverol

A very fine sheet depicting Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) at the Broussais Hospital in Paris, where he died in January 1896. For the last ten years of his life, Verlaine spent long stays in various hospitals, totalizing more than four years. He suffered from a very painful arthritis in the knees (hence the walking stick on … Continue reading « Alexandre Graverol »

Charles Laval

The present and so-entitled Le Christ noir is certainly one of the most dramatic and key works by Charles Laval, at the end of his life, that occurred a year later. In a way, this sets Laval’s testament, encapsulating his singular personality, as well as an homage to his master, Léon Bonnat, and to his … Continue reading « Charles Laval »

Gustav Klimt

This stunning work, dating from the earliest time of Gustav Klimt’s career, depicts an elderly gentleman wearing a white frilled neck ruff seen from behind in part profile. It is in fact a modello or preparatory sketch for a figure in his Theatre of Shakespeare on the ceiling of the Burgtheater in Vienna. However, the … Continue reading « Gustav Klimt »

Louis-Amable Crapelet

A beautiful architype of the seductive orientalism by Louis-Amable Crapelet. Without sacrificing the topographic exactitude of the scene, the artist achieved to depict a strong sensation of beauty and exoticism of the present Isis temple in Philae. It is very efficient and powerful, a balance between idealistic landscapes and a true depiction of historical sites. … Continue reading « Louis-Amable Crapelet »

Salon du Dessin

Palais Brongniart (stand 11) 28, Place de la Bourse, 75002 Paris

Didier Petit de Meurville

Didier Petit de Meurville – painter, art aficionado and prominent collector of antiques and religious art – had many talents, which he seemed to exercise simultaneously and successfully. Born in Haiti in 1793, when the political climate was tumultuous, Petit de Meurville ventured to Lyon and began his career as a silk manufacturer. Soon, the … Continue reading « Didier Petit de Meurville »

Jules Chéret

A ground-breaking figure in the history of advertising, Jules Chéret, dubbed ‘Watteau de la Rue’, was world famous for his flamboyant poster art, which decorated the Parisian streetscape during the second half of the 19th century. In contrast with his colourful, dancing nymphs that covered posters, spectacle announcements, book covers, and advertisements, this small painting … Continue reading « Jules Chéret »

Xavier Mellery

The present panel is a softly rendered, intimate oil painting by Xavier Mellery, presumably showing the first communion of his daughter Lucy and that circumstance could be the reason why, until recently, this work was kept by the heirs. The figure looks very close to the girl depicted in an oil painting kept at the … Continue reading « Xavier Mellery »

Jean-Pierre Dantan

Destined to serve the memory of the model in the form of true sacralisation and an affirmation of the sitter’s social rank, Jeune adolescent de la famille Berthelot is a beautiful example of the French romantic sculpture. Introduced in the beginning of the 19th c., the bust became a means to limit movement, expression and … Continue reading « Jean-Pierre Dantan »

Hermann Wöhler

Hermann Wöhler work is one the best rediscoveries made from the German art of the 1920’s. Die Sonne is part of the virtual series Der Paraklet. Sieben Bilder aus den Tagen des Retters un zum Gedächtnis an den frühe Heimgegangenen [The Paraclete. Seven images from the Days of the Saviours to the memory of the … Continue reading « Hermann Wöhler »

Odilon Redon

Odilon Redon’s Head of Perseus belongs to the best early painted works of heads cuts – flying, hanged, unexpected, in the ether or in water – that are the emblematic key of his oeuvre and can be assigned their places within an entire series of Redon figures. Actually, the present Head of Perseus is one … Continue reading « Odilon Redon »

Jean-Auguste Barre

Medallist and sculptor, Jean-Auguste Barre was widely recognised for his small statuette-portraits, a fashion that started in the 1830’s. An object of great desire amongst the 19th century public, due to its small size, its efficient and affordable distribution in series, and easy placement in bourgeois apartments. In his signature style of powerful romanticism, Barre … Continue reading « Jean-Auguste Barre »

Didier Petit de Meurville

Didier Petit de Meurville – painter, art aficionado and prominent collector of antiques and religious art – had many talents, which he seemed to exercise simultaneously and successfully. Born in Haiti in 1793, when the political climate was tumultuous, Petit de Meurville ventured to Lyon and began his career as a silk manufacturer. Soon, the … Continue reading « Didier Petit de Meurville »

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux

The portraits of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux are always powerful works. Here, Carpeaux portrayed the French sculptor, Joseph Osbach. This young man was most probably a student of Carpeaux. The 4th August 1874, the painter mentioned in his journal working on a portrait of Osbach. However, there is a second portrait of the sculptor by the artiste. … Continue reading « Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux »

Victor Paul Vignon

Still included in the School of Barbizon by some art historians, Victor Paul Vignon lived and painted the best part of his life on the shores of the Seine and Oise rivers in the region of Ile-de-France, a popular spot for the Impressionist painters. He was known for his relatively small paintings, mainly of the … Continue reading « Victor Paul Vignon »

Léon Spilliaert

The Cloud was painted circa 1902-1903, a very intense period marked by a great surge in the artist’s talent. The whole of Spilliaert is already there and every aspect of his work can be recognized, with the exception of garish colors which will start appearing in his pieces around 1912-1913. The female image was the … Continue reading « Léon Spilliaert »

Maurice Denis

The painting is a study for one of the artist’s major works, La Visitation, and dated from 1894. Presented at the Salon de la Nationale in 1895, it was acquired a few years later by Sergueï Chtchoukine, a famous collector of Matisse and Picasso, and is now kept in the collection of the Hermitage Museum … Continue reading « Maurice Denis »