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Paul Jourdy (1805-1856) Bust-Length Portrait of a Woman
Oil …
See original version (French)
23
-
Paul Jourdy (1805-1856) Bust-Length Portrait of a Woman
Oil …
See original version (French)
Estimate €4,000 - €6,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Paul Jourdy (1805-1856)
Bust-Length Portrait of a Woman
Oil on canvas
63 x 53 cm
Signed lower left
This Portrait of a Bust-Length Woman is a perfect illustration of Paul Jourdy's synthesis between his classical references and the modernity of the teaching he received.
Paul Jourdy entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris at the age of fifteen and studied with Guillaume Guillon Lethière (1760-1832). He won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome in 1834 with his Homère chantant ses vers. As a resident at the Villa Médicis, then run by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867), he met up with his friends Hippolyte (1809-1864) and Paul Flandrin (1811-1902). Under the influence of his master, he moved away from the academic tradition of male nudes to specialise in depictions of the female body. His work Femme mettant ses boucles d'oreille (Woman Wearing Earrings), exhibited at the Salon of 1841, demonstrates his perfect assimilation of the Ingresque style.
Back in Paris, he exhibited almost every year at the Salon. He presented both secular and mythological works. He took on a number of government commissions to decorate Parisian churches and tried his hand at lithography as well as creating cartoons for stained-glass windows.
This oil on canvas is a perfect illustration of Jourdy's style, with its classical references and Ingresque manner. The position of the woman's hands, one covering her breasts and the other resting on her stomach, evokes the attitude of the Italian Venus sculpted by Canova, heir to the ancient theme of the modest Venus.
The composition is devoid of narrative elements, and the young woman wears a simple white cloth and a contemporary chignon. The artist focused all his attention on the realism of the model's anatomy and milky complexion, which he highlighted by placing her in front of a very opaque and decorative wooded background.
The very tight framing and the absence of time references create an atmosphere charged with mystery and eroticism.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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