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Paul César HelleuLa femme aux fleurs (Portrait de Mathilde See)Circa 1910
Circa 1910
About the Item
Paul César Helleu is regarded among the most sought-after society portraitists of his era, and his Belle Époque works rival those of his contemporaries John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini. He is best remembered for capturing the era's most beautiful socialites, including Consuelo Vanderbilt, the Duchess of Marlborough, the Comtesse de Loriol Chandieu and the Comtesse Mathieu de Noailles, among others. This work, however, stands out in that it captures the charming likeness of one of his art world cohorts, Mathilde See, a Parisian-born decorator and painter of floral still lifes. She is the essence of the modern woman, captured in her fashionable dress as she strolls along the flower-lined streets of Paris.
Commanding in size, Portrait de Mathilde See fully displays Helleu's mastery over the medium of pastel. The muted palette of greys and blues is typical of the artist, bringing a harmony and cohesiveness to the composition. Furthermore, Helleu cleverly alludes to See's own artistic output with a backdrop of vibrant floral blooms, enlivening the canvas and complementing the greens and blues of the peacock feather adorning her hat.
The portrait is all the more significant thanks to its provenance. It was previously in the collection of A. Alfred Taubman, one of America's most successful entrepreneurs and one-time owner of Sotheby's. Considering Taubman encountered some of the most noteworthy and beautiful works of art ever made through his auction house, the fact that he chose this portrait by Helleu to grace his collection is a testament to its import.
Born in Brittany in 1859, Helleu moved to Paris in 1876 in order to study at the École des Beaux-Arts. Like so many other artists of his generation, he was trained there under the Academic master Jean-Léon Gérôme. That same year, he also attended the Second Impressionist Exhibition, where he met John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler and Claude Monet, each of whom would have a significant influence on his art. Sargent in particular remained a lifelong friend, and Helleu and his family appear in many of Sargent's portraits in the decades to follow.
Helleu quickly became a portraitist of renown, capturing many of the great socialites of the age. Later in his career, he also explored the art of the landscape, finding inspiration in the parks of Versailles and the port of Deauville. In 1904, he was awarded the Légion d'honneur and was made an honorary member of important beaux-arts societies. Today, his works can be found in the collections of the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) and the Brooklyn Museum, among others.
This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist currently being prepared by the Association des amis de Paul César Helleu as no. PA-1495.
Circa 1910
Linen: 49 1/4" high x 35 1/2" wide
Frame: 61 3/8" high x 48 1/4" wide
Exhibited:
Detroit Institute of Arts, June 30, 1989 - June 30, 1991
Provenance:
Sotheby's, New York, May 23, 1989, lot 116
Collection of A. Alfred Taubman
- Creator:Paul César Helleu (1859-1927, French)
- Creation Year:Circa 1910
- Dimensions:Height: 61.38 in (155.91 cm)Width: 48.25 in (122.56 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New Orleans, LA
- Reference Number:
Paul César Helleu
Rich impression with dramatic drypoint burr and tone no other artist epitomizes the whole atmosphere of elegance and hedonistic pleasure which pervaded Paris society at the first decade of the century as does Helleu. A close friend of Proust and the inspiration for one of the principal characters in La Recherche du Temps Perdu, Helleu’s whole life style echoed the incomparable elegance and flow of his drawing, the sheer style of his art, and his eye for the poses of the beautiful women who were his friends and his patrons. During the 1870’s, Helleu had come to know the painters of Impressionism and also artists Sargent and Whistler who became his special friends and inspiration. By the early 1880’s, he had already developed the quality of expressive sweeping line, which is the essence of his drawing, but in 1885 he was encouraged by Tissot to try working on prints in drypoint. At this time, Tissot had decided, after the death of his lover and model Kathleen Newton, to travel to the Holy Land on an artistic pilgrimage. Having decided he would no longer engrave, he gave Helleu his diamond stylus…a literal and figurative “passing of the baton”. It was in the incision and texture of drypoint that his art was to reach one of its greatest peaks. He had an innate feel for the balance between a lightly curving stroke and the deeply cut highly tonal burr of the strongest drypoint. Around the turn of the century he started to combine drypoint with multi-inking in colors, the areas of color restricted to such touches as the bows on the hats, the hair color or the red of the lips. The plate was drawn at a single sitting, and then the color inks were brushed onto it. The results are some of the most splendid and decorative of all Belle Époque prints.
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