Henri Victor Lesur Decorative Art

Henry Victor Lesur was born in Roubaix on April 28, 1863. Like many of his contemporaries during the last quarter of the 19th century, Lesur's works took inspiration from scenes of French 18th century life, romance and everyday enjoyment.  His works appear to have also been inspired by the Rococo works by Jean-Honoré Fragonard (French, 1732–1806) and François Boucher (French, 1703–70). He received his formal training in the atelier of François Flameng - a professor at l'École des Beaux-Arts. Under his tutelage, Lesur received the academic training he needed and developed a love for highlife genre (costume) subjects. From the 1880s–90s, Lesur exhibited at the Paris Salon. Among them were Portrait de M.J. Stirling Dyce (1888), Portrait de M.M. Caplain (1890), Portrait de M. Alfred Loreau, Député du Loiret (1892), Portrait de Mlle and  Wanda de Boncza (1895). It is important to note that most of the works exhibited by Lesur were portraits, when in fact he is best known for his works featuring pretty women and handsome men dressed in 18th century costume conversing in a garden or walking through a public place or flower market. Lesur received a medal at the Salon in 1887 and the Exposition Universelle of 1889–1900.