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Lot description
ARTIST: Henri Victor Lesur (French, 1863 - 1900) TITLE: The Flower Seller MEDIUM: oil on board CONDITION: Few minor paint losses. No visible inpaint under UV light. Normal wear along edges. ART SIZE: 18 x 14 inches / 45 x 35 cm FRAME SIZE: unframed (In-House framing available) SIGNATURE: lower right PROVENANCE: Sotheby's New York, Date 1986-12-02, Lot 73; Bonhams New York, Date 2005-11-29, Lot 120 CATEGORY: old antique vintage painting for auction sale online AD: ART CONSIGNMENTS WANTED. CONTACT US SKU#: 127430 US Shipping $49 + insurance. BIOGRAPHY: Born in the latter half of the nineteenth century, Henri-Victor Lesur was just seven or eight years old when the Franco-Prussian war broke out. It was a tumultuous period in France. Leading up to these struggles, France's history had been punctuated by other social and economic ills, brutally portrayed by the adherents of Realism, who had been given a strong presence in society not only through their works displayed at public exhibitions, but also through the writings of Emile Zola and the art critic and champion of Realism, Champfleury. While Realism continued to be a strong presence guiding the work of many artists, some grew weary of these depressing images and sought to assuage their wounds by admiring the gay images reminiscent of eighteenth century French artists such as Antoine Watteau, Franсois Boucher, and Jean-Honore Fragonard. For a moment the public could revel in these playful scenes and forget the ills that still plagued much of the population. One artist who portrayed daily life with the frivolity of past masters was Henri-Victor Lesur whose images represent an era of bygone luxury and playfulness, set against the backdrop of Paris.Lesur's treatment of such compositions and figures is not without a social underpinning, which was most likely an unconscious effort on Lesur's part. In a discussion over the changing environment and circumstances that led to a shift from Realism to Naturalism, Gabriel Weisberg also provides a fitting comment on the society which looked for pictures like Lesur's.