A fantastic, almost spectral image, Grandi’s Mourner seems to consist only of shadows and fragments of light. Her face is absent, and her body exists only through the hair and the wrap that covers her almost entirely. Only the shape of her arms escapes from them. Its stark and brutal surface reinforces the message much … Continue reading “Giuseppe Grandi”

Born in Switzerland, Palézieux had the opportunity to study in Florence between 1939 and 1943. He was trained at the source of the Italian Renaissance and acquired solid historical knowledge there. He frequented the Trovarelli brothers, custodians of all kinds of secret processes: he benefited from this experience and from the technical and aesthetic discussions … Continue reading “Gérard de Palézieux”

These two spectacular surrealist drawings, La Mort couvée and Mikli affectueux, belong to the most famous series by the French-Swiss artist Marguerite Burnat-Provins, called Ma Ville. “[…] It was then that I felt hordes invade my soul; names, names, names by the hundred, squeezed together like people from who knows where. Overwhelmed by this flood, … Continue reading “Marguerite Burnat-Provins”

The present sheet is a stunning preliminary study related to Léon Bénouville ‘s master painting, Les Martyrs conduits au supplice; now at the Louvre (inv. 20042). The artist started this project when he was still at the Villa Medicis, in Rome, between 1846 and 1851. This portrait of a man is precisely one of the … Continue reading “Léon François Bénouville”

A delightful example of famous Gudin’s seascapes, combining an elegant and delicate palette with the contrast and drama of a stormy atmosphere. Gudin was one of the most talented marine’s painters of the 19th century. He studied with Ann-Louis Girodet and Antoine-Jean Gros, but very soon he grew fond of the romantic masters Delacroix and … Continue reading “Jean-Antoine Théodore Gudin”

This is an exceptional bronze and representation of a typical Japanese woman by Emile-Louis Truffot, when he arrived at the peak of his career. The second half of the 19th century was scientific and marked by a growing interest in distant peoples and civilizations, no longer in a fanciful and imaginary relationship, but in the … Continue reading “Emile Louis Truffot”