Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 12

César Ducornet
Portrait of a young girl

1837

About the Item

Louis Joseph César DUCORNET (Lille 1806 – Paris 1856) Portrait of a young girl Oil on canvas H. 92 cm; L. 73 cm Signed upper left, dated 1837 When he came into the world in Lille in 1806 into a family of not very well-off artisans, the doctors who delivered him doubted for a moment that this being could only live a few hours, it was so counterfeited. Ducornet was born without arms or thighs, with no other apparent joint movement than the pelvis, and feet where there were only four fingers including the big toe; However, later, it was only with these means of action that he drew and painted his pictures, also using his mouth. From the age of twelve he attended the Lille drawing school under the direction of Watteau de Lille, of which he became one of the most skilled students. Drawing from the model and copying the masters at the museum, he won the First Prize for drawing in his hometown in 1822 at just 16 years old. The mayor of Lille, the Count of Muyssard, obtained from the municipal council the following year a sum of 300 francs to facilitate the continuation of his studies which he carried out in Paris in the Guillon-Lethière workshop. Baron Gérard who was his protector, first painter of the regime, went to Charles X who granted a pension to Ducornet from his personal fund. Thanks to these subsidies, he was able to live and perfect his skills at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where he competed for the Prix de Rome from 1828 to 1831, without success. The favor of this painter did not suffer from political reversals and until his death in 1856 the Superintendence of Fine Arts assured him of numerous commissions. He regularly participated in the Parisian Salons, obtaining a third class medal in 1840 with The Death of the Madeleine (Lille, Saint-André church) then a second class medal the following year with The Rest of the Holy Family in Egypt (Paris, church of Saint-Louis-en-l’Ile). Critics always mention the artist's infirmity and the Salon booklets each time mention "artist born without arms drawing with his feet"; contemporaries could not fail to admire his courage: “seeing the work of this armless painter, can we not admire the power of the human will and not see the most dazzling triumph of intellectual force”. As they appear to us today, Ducornet's works allow us to measure the heroism of this artist, overcoming infirmity to rise to the level of the very good historical productions of the moment. This portrait, painted at the age of thirty by the painter, is composed against a landscape background, accompanied by a flowering rosebush. This young woman is also holding a slightly open rose as well as another in bud in her hand. Should we see here a synonym for a young girl who is not yet a woman?
  • Creator:
    César Ducornet (1806 - 1856, French)
  • Creation Year:
    1837
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 36.23 in (92 cm)Width: 28.75 in (73 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    BELEYMAS, FR
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1857215676302

More From This Seller

View All
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; L. 73 cm Signed on the helmet:...
Category

1750s French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The cabbage cutter
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
Jean-Baptiste SANTERRE (Magny-en-Vexin, 1658- Paris, 1717) The cabbage cutter Oil on canvas H. 86 cm; L. 70 cm Jean-Baptiste Santerre began his apprent...
Category

Early 1700s French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a French man
By Jean Despujols
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
Jean DESPUJOLS (Salles 1886 – Shreveport 1965) Portrait of a Henri Martin, mayor of Saint Médard en Jalles (Gironde) Oil on canvas H. 75 cm; L. 60 cm Signed lower right around 1920/2...
Category

1920s French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of baron de Roisin - Gendarmerie general
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
Flemish school of the 19th century Armorial portrait of Baron Henri de ROISIN (1787-1846) in the uniform of a general of the gendarmerie (1835) Oil on canvas H. 108 cm; W. 90 cm Bar...
Category

1830s French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Holy family under an oak tree on a gold background
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
French school circa 1870 Holy Family under an oak, after Raphaël, on gold background Oil on canvas H. 92 cm; W. 60 cm This aesthetic curiosity takes up the very famous composition b...
Category

19th Century French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Cavalry review of the 2nd Lancers regiment
Located in BELEYMAS, FR
Georges HYON (Paris 1840 – Saint Germain en Laye 1913) Cavalry review of the 2nd Lancers regiment Oil on canvas H. 115 cm; W. 146.5 cm Signed lower left A student of Portalis, Georg...
Category

1870s French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like

Red-haired beauty portrait oil painting on canvas by René Avigdor 19Th Century
Located in Gavere, BE
Red-haired beauty portrait oil painting on canvas by René Avigdor 19Th Century Rene Avigdor was born in Nice and spent his career in France. He specialized in portraits, especiall...
Category

1890s French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

SPRING BEAUTY - Angelo Granati - Oirtrair of Oil on Canvas Painting
By Angelo Granati
Located in Napoli, IT
SPRING BEAUTY - Oil on canvas painting by Angelo Granati, Italy 2011 Gold leaf gilded, pleated silk and mirror wooden frame ext. mis. cm. 164x106. This is his reinterpretation of pa...
Category

2010s French School Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Oil On Canvas, portrait of a musketeer French school 20th century
Located in Gavere, BE
Oil On Canvas, portrait of a musketeer French school 20th century Horace Colmaire studied with Albert Roze in Amiens before joining the workshops of Léon Bonnat, Jules Adler and Ray...
Category

1920s French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

1850's Large Mid 19th Century French Portrait of a Young Gentleman Signed Oil
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The French Gentleman by Paul Goubil (French mid 19th century) signed and dated 1855 oil on canvas, framed framed: 30.5 x 25 inches canvas: 29 x 24 inches Provenance: private collecti...
Category

Mid-19th Century French School Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Mid 19th Century French Provincial Oil Portrait of Lady & Her Dog, framed
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Portrait of a Lady with her Pet Dog French School, mid 19th century oil on canvas, framed framed: 36 x 28 inches canvas: 29 x 20 inches Provenance: private collection, France Conditi...
Category

Mid-19th Century French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Full length portrait of a child with his dog
Located in Paris, IDF
Benjamin Théophile CHARON-LÉMERILLON (Paris, 1807 – Bouzareah (Algiers), 1873) Full length portrait of a child with his dog Oil on canvas Signed and dated lower right 36 x 28 cm 18...
Category

Mid-19th Century French School Portrait Paintings

Materials

Oil

Recently Viewed

View All