Albert Mantelet

Albert MANTELET (1858-1958) French School c1900 Oil Painting

1900

A sensitive portrait of Malvina signed, dated 1882 and presented in its original magnificent heavy gilt frame. Van Landuyt was a Belgian School painter who studied at the Royal Aca...

Isidore-Alexandre-Augustin PILS (1815–1875) A bewitching portrait of a young redheaded woman attributed to Isidore Pils. The same sitter appears in another of his other paintings,...

A magnificent portrait of Henry Izod aged 67 in 1726, unsigned, but attributed verso to De Coning. Presented in a delightful frame probably the original. Th...

Antonin MERCIE (1845-1916) French Belle Époque Portrait A stylish portrait of a fashionable young woman dating to the Belle Époque period. Signe...

Circle of Antoine Pesnes 1725 Margravine of Bayreuth Old Master Portrait A delightful portrait of a young noble woman ascribed on a label verso as la margravine de Bayreuth, 1725. P...

“The Locket” An enchanting Pre-Raphaelite inspired painting of a young woman examining a locket. Painted on canvasboard, signed, dated 1912 and presented in a magnificent carved Flo...

Julius EXNER (Copenhagen, 1825 - Copenhagen, 1910) Model stripping Oil on canvas H. 122 cm; L. 74 cm Signed and dated 1842 lower right Exhibition: most likely Charlottenborg Salon of 1845, under number 110, titled Modelfigur, awarded with a silver medal Provenance: Emilio Fernando Bolt (c.1860 - 1944), acquired from the artist around 1900, then by descent Our painting was produced as part of the summer sessions organized between 1839 and 1850 by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783-1853), the master of Danish painting of the first half of the 19th century, in his private studio-apartment on the ground floor. floor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. The master brought together a few students there between June and September, rented one or two models for the season, which were painted from different angles, the artists (including Eckersberg himself) sitting side by side. Eckersberg used to paint a fairly small version, the pupils of the larger formats. The work fits more generally into the legendary context of the research and reforms carried out by Eckersberg concerning the studies of nudes and in particular of female nudes, to make this exercise a genre of painting in its own right. Following his two-year stint in Jacques-Louis David's studio in Paris in 1811, Eckersberg had been made aware of work on the nude and in particular on live models, in natural light, while in Denmark the drawings were then only made from casts of antique models or other mannequins. In 1822, when he had been a professor there since 1818, it was he who had the Royal Academy of Copenhagen authorize the study of nudes, no longer in the evening by candlelight, but in natural light; from 1833, it was still he who allowed students to work on nude female models, even if the official authorization of the Academy did not take place until 1839. It was this same year that he instituted his summer sessions, on a private basis, to orient his painting and that of his students towards a new conception of the representation of models: even if the nude remains the real theme, it does not however, this is more than just an academic exercise. The subject is placed in a contemporary interior, with a rather sophisticated decor, and occupied with an intimate activity (it is this type of intimate vein that we will find later in Degas or Cassatt for example); thus in our painting, the young woman is supposed to take off her clothes to wash. The objective is that the viewer forgets that the master and his students are painting a model during a posing session, and that he instead has the impression of being alone with the model, but invisible, almost like a voyeur in spite of himself. Moreover, in these paintings, the model never looks towards the spectator, inducing a psychological distance with him, whereas model and artist are actually physically very close. On the other hand, it is not a question of idealized nudes either, even if Eckersberg, proof of his debt to the antique, chooses fairly classic models and poses. The sensuality is real and very present, with dreamy, even innocent, and timeless expressions (the models do not seem to have a defined age), suave and slow attitudes and movements, and especially with clothes that hide or reveal skillfully parts of the female body: upper buttocks, pronounced hips... Made by an artist under 20, our sensual painting is probably one of the most beautiful and spectacular produced by the students of Eckersberg during these summer sessions. With a perfect balance between the firmness of an ancient statue (it recalls the Venus de Milo) and the softness of the feminine forms, highlighted by a harmonious palette, it captures the attention with many details: the almost photographic folds white clothing...

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...

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...

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 ...

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; ...

After Baron Gérard, circa 1835 Portrait of King Louis-Philippe Oil on canvas H. 79 cm; L. 65 cm Provenance : Private collection, Périgord, by descent since the 19th century This po...