Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

André Devambez
Portrait of a woman at the bistro with an Absinthe glass and cigarette

c. 1905

About the Item

André DEVAMBEZ (Paris, 1867 - Paris, 1944) Portrait of a woman in a bistro Oil on mahogany panel H. 22 cm; L. 16 cm Signed lower right Around 1905/1910 Provenance : Galerie de la Scala (68, rue La Boétie, Paris 8th), then by descent Exhibition : the painting will appear (loan) in the exhibition dedicated to André Devambez by the Rennes Fine Arts Museum (February-May 2022 period) and the Petit-Palais Museum in Paris (September-December 2022 period) Son of the famous engraver and publisher Édouard Devambez, the young André very early on showed a taste and drawing skills. A pupil of Benjamin Constant and Jules Lefebvre at the Académie Julian, he continued his apprenticeship at the Beaux-Arts in Paris and won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1890, but he had already participated in his first Salon des Artistes Français in 1889. Back in Paris in 1896 after his Roman training, he first collaborated in magazines (L'Illustration or Le Rire for example) with humorous and satirical drawings, and he also illustrated menus, programs, or created posters. But quickly he will make himself known through his paintings. Alongside his large Salon paintings or his compositions for decorations, he developed an intensive production of genre paintings, often filled with tenderness and humour: beach scenes (in Yport) or urban life teeming with small characters (subway platforms, air shows, public gardens, omnibus queues, fairgrounds...), small portraits of drinkers, philosophers, skits with craftsmen, duelists, swordsmen or other brigands. At the time of his first private exhibition in 1913 at the Georges Petit gallery, he had already acquired popular fame and public recognition (legion of honor in 1911, regular participation in the Salon). It is particularly appreciated for its bird's eye viewpoints and its crowd effects. The war, where he was seriously injured, inspired him to paint on this theme, but did not interrupt his success as an unclassifiable artist, with multiple registers of expression. An article in the illustrated monthly Larousse devoted to him in 1930 speaks of the "realism of his figures, the antithesis of conventional academicism...irreproachable and precious execution... heir to the fine traditions of the Dutch and Flemish masters...". Our painting with its strong presence belongs to the series of what Devambez called his Misunderstood (in reference to his painting at the Salon of 1904, Les Misunderstood, now kept at the Quimper museum) and which he was particularly fond of: types of drinkers, poets or artists drowning their distress or seeking inspiration in alcohol, lost philosophers... alone or in groups, inspired by the people of the bistros, in which the consumption of alcohol, in particular absinthe, was so very strong. The art historian Gustave Soulier writes about this: "It's like a kind of new Daumier that we find in Mr. Devambez". Between humor and tragedy, these guys are often decked out in grotesque hats, too big, too small, dented, or of incredible shape like that of our drinker. This one presents a marked face, with premature aging possibly due to the abuse of alcohol and tobacco. Whether she is a simple emancipated woman (there is a painting by Devambez titled La féministe, could it be ours?) smoking her cigarette and drinking her glass alone, or an old prostitute hoping to still be able to attract a hypothetical client, the café seems for her a place of asylum more than a place of exchanges and debates. Our work, by its subject and its construction, can be compared to the painting (27 x 21 cm) kept at the Musée du Petit-Palais in Paris, titled Au Café, and representing an absinthe drinker with a cigarette, supposed to be the chansonnier Marcel Legay.
  • Creator:
    André Devambez (1867 - 1943, French)
  • Creation Year:
    c. 1905
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 36.23 in (92 cm)Width: 28.75 in (73 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Perfect condition. Cleaned.
  • Gallery Location:
    BELEYMAS, FR
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1860214300492
More From This SellerView All
  • Judith and Holoferne
    Located in BELEYMAS, FR
    Jacques STELLA (Lyon, 1596 – Paris, 1657) Judith and Holofernes Oil on slate H. 23.5 cm; L. 24 cm Son of François Stellaert, a painter of Flemish origin who settled in Rome in 1576, then in Lyon, Jacques Stella was born in this city in 1596. Around 1619, he left for Florence where he worked for Cosimo II de Medici. He probably already met Nicolas Poussin and Jacques Callot there. Stella left Florence for Rome in 1622 or 1623, where he befriended Poussin, who arrived in 1624. Stella became famous in the world of Italian amateurs for his small paintings painted on precious supports: marble, agate, lapis, slate, as well as by his engravings and drawings. In 1634, having received offers from the King of Spain, he left Rome in the suite of Marshal de Créqui, French ambassador. He passed through Venice, stopped in Lyon in 1635, then in Paris. Retained by Richelieu who took him into his service, he settled in the capital of the kingdom. Covered with favors, he benefited from accommodation in the Louvre and a considerable pension. He later received the Collar of the Order of Saint-Michel, a rare honor for an artist...
    Category

    1620s French School Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Slate

  • Presumed portrait of Princess de Conti, Marie-Anne de Bourbon
    By Nicolas de Largillière
    Located in BELEYMAS, FR
    Nicolas de LARGILLIERRE (Paris 1656 – 1746) Portrait of a woman, presumed to be Marie-Anne de Bourbon, Princess of Conti (1666-1739) Oil on oval canvas H. 80 cm; L. 61 cm (107 x 91 c...
    Category

    1730s French School Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • The Annunciation
    Located in BELEYMAS, FR
    Jacques STELLA (Lyon, 1596 - Paris, 1657) The Annunciation Oil on alabaster (single old break perfectly restored) H. 25 cm; W. 30 cm Son of François Stellaert, a painter of Flemish ...
    Category

    1620s French School Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Alabaster

  • Sketch of a dandy portrait
    Located in BELEYMAS, FR
    French school circa 1840 Sketch of a dandy portrait Oil on canvas mounted on cardboard H. 21 cm; L. 20.5 cm
    Category

    1830s French School Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Portrait of a man in armor
    Located in BELEYMAS, FR
    Attributed to Jacques DUMONT aka DUMONT LE ROMAIN (Paris 1701 - 1781) Presumed portrait of Louis-Joseph de Formanoir (?-1732) Oil on canvas H. 91.5 cm; ...
    Category

    1750s French School Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Charles Fréchou - Child portrait with a cat
    Located in BELEYMAS, FR
    Charles FRÉCHOU (Paris 1820 – Paris 1900) Portrait of a child with a cat Oil on canvas H. 41 cm; L. 33 cm Signed lower left and dated 1849 Apart from participation in the Salon betw...
    Category

    1810s French School Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like
  • Portrait of a child with blue eyes
    By Charles Zacharie Landelle
    Located in PARIS, FR
    Charles Zacharie LANDELLE (Laval, 1821 – Chennevières/Marne, 1908) Portrait of a child with blue eyes Oil on canvas Monogrammed and dated lower l...
    Category

    Mid-19th Century French School Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Mignon regretting his homeland - Mignon aspiring to heaven
    Located in PARIS, FR
    Ary SCHEFFER (1795-1858), workshop of Mignon regretting his homeland Mignon aspiring to heaven Two oils on canvas in the same frame 44 x 22 cm each Mig...
    Category

    Mid-19th Century French School Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Portrait of Jean Claude Pellegrini (1787-1854)
    Located in PARIS, FR
    François Jean SABLET (Morges, 1745 – Nantes, 1819) Portrait of Jean Claude Pellegrini (1787-1854) Honorary Divisional Inspector of Bridges and Roads. Oil on canvas Monogrammed and dated lower right 30x25cm 1819 Painter of portraits, Jean François Sablet, originally from Morges, born November 23, 1745, is the eldest son of Jacob Sablet (1720–1798), bourgeois of this city, house painter, gilder, art dealer, and Suzanne Dupuis (1722–1775), settled in Lausanne from 1754. In 1767, on June 8, he prepared to leave to “improve in the art of painting” with a viaticum from the Council of Morges and a scholarship from Bern. In Paris, he was a pupil of Joseph-Marie Vien at the Royal Academy (1768–73). In 1772, he was joined by his younger brother Jacques, who in 1776 left for Rome to pursue a brilliant career there. François, he remains in Paris, goes almost unnoticed there having neither competed, nor received a prize, nor even exhibited. In 1774, he signed and dated the Portrait of the Count of Artois, as Colonel-General of the Swiss and Graubünden. In 1777, he married Marie Madeleine Borel, daughter of a wood merchant, and settled near the Quinze-Vingt at the Bastille, as a portrait painter. He entered the Masonic lodge of Celestial Friendship and therefore enjoyed a certain notoriety. He executed the portrait of Charles-Henri, Comte d'Estaing, engraved by Charles-Etienne Gaucher (1779). In 1781, L. Perrot reproduced two of his works from the cabinet of Madame de Saint-Maurice, Childhood in the Countryside and Visit to the Nurse, for the philanthropic society founded in particular by Louis d'Affry, captain of the Swiss Guards. . In addition to the fact that these subjects denote an ideal of benevolence under the aegis of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, they testify to relations with the Swiss milieu. Finally, the format and quality of two large full-length portraits Vestal pouring incense (1781) and the Offering to Hymen (1783) reflect her favor in society on the eve of the Revolution and, although in shadow, he is able to build life annuities. From this first stage are dated two sketchbooks in black chalk and red chalk of characters, interior scenes, theatrical evocations, including the Vestal Virgin pouring incense. He also signed a series of wash illustrations relating to mythology and other subjects taken from Ovid. In 1789, the political climate suddenly darkened, the amateurs left, dragging the artists with them. François Sablet took the road to Switzerland and, in January 1792, joined his brother in Rome, a genre painter in Italian costumes and portraits in nature called "conversation pieces", models from which François was to draw inspiration. François spent the summer in Genzano in the Roman countryside, where he also devoted himself to landscape and popular costumes. Beat d'Hennezel, their compatriot, evokes the evenings at the Sablets' with their artist friends, busy drawing portraits while exchanging heated remarks on the political situation. However, the events in Paris had repercussions in Rome. In January 1793 the French representative was assassinated, the French and other French speakers...
    Category

    Early 19th Century French School Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Portrait of a young woman in a crimson dress
    Located in PARIS, FR
    Louis-Léopold BOILLY (La Bassée 1761 - Paris 1845) Portrait of a young woman in a crimson dress Oil on canvas H. 22 cm; L. 17 cm Louis-Léopold Boilly,...
    Category

    Early 19th Century French School Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Study of a Breton shepherdess
    By Theodore Valerio
    Located in PARIS, FR
    Théodore VALERIO (Herserange, 1819 – Vichy, 1879) Study of a Breton shepherdess Oil on canvas mounted on cardboard Bears the sale stamp at the bottom 31 x 22 cm Provenance: Sale o...
    Category

    Late 19th Century French School Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • The Beautiful Maiden
    By Jan Van Beers
    Located in St. Albans, GB
    Jean Marie Constantin Joseph (Jan) VAN BEERS Oil on Panel Panel Size: 32 x 24" (81 x 62cm) Outside frame Size: 38 x 33" (97 x 83cm) Van Beers (1852 ...
    Category

    1870s French School Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

Recently Viewed

View All