Scarlet Haired Beauty Oil Painting by Jules Ballavoine

Oil painting by Emil Fiala (signed Em. Fiala (1882-1953)) Showing sleeping beauty with cherubs Good original condition.

Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1834-1912) first came to Vienna when he exhibited at the Vienna World Exhibition in 1873. In 1879 he became honorable member of the Akademie of Fine Arts Vienna and was called to be a member of the jury of the First International Art Exhibition in Vienna at the Wiener Künstlerhaus in 1882. From this moment on, he exhibited regularly in the Austrian Empire until 1902. In 1882, the Austrian Cultural Ministry purchased his portrait of “La Fiammetta”. In 1895 and 1896, the renowned Galerie Miethke exhibited works by him, the painting “Madeleine” from 1876 among them. We believe that this particular work was to be exhibited at the “III. International Art Exhibition” in the Künstlerhaus in Vienna. The stock book of the exhibition clearly shows the entry in the French section of “Le Febre, Jule”, the name of the work “Lorelei” and the sales price of 35.000 Francs. The fact that the price is very high compared to his colleagues (Henner & Vibert 15.000 Francs) and that the frame for this piece was delivered in a separate box suggests that the work was quite large. It was found in a Villa in Vienna’s 19th district. Not only the frame but also the size and quality of the painting instantly beguiles the beholder. The format and the mythological motif of the “Lorelei” are very much in line with other known paintings by this artist. The composition of the oeuvre is also typical of the works of Jules Lefebvre: a central female figurine in a classic Italian pose, one knee slightly in front of the other. The painted rock in the background is also similar to the actual “Loreley” rock wall in Germany near Koblenz. Another beguiling fact is the model itself: in 1880, Jules Lefebvre discovered a young girl at the Hippodrome in Paris. Her name was Marie-Florentine Roger or Sarah Brown...