Offered by Galerie Delvaille
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French furniture of the 18th century & French figurative paintings
Oil on panel, signed lower left and dated 1885
45 cm x 31 cm / With its original frame 73 cm x 56.5 cm
Born in Besançon, Théobald Chartran quickly gained recognition for his talent as a draftsman and caricaturist. At the age of eighteen, he was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he studied with Alexandre Cabanel, a leading figure in academic painting during the Second Empire. Having chosen the path of Official Art and not having participated in the adventure of Impressionism, Théobald Chartran is today little known to the general public; yet he is one of the most remarkable French painters of the late 19th century. Winner of the Grand Prix de Rome in 1877, Chartran received numerous commissions from high society, creating portraits of President Sadi Carnot, Sarah Bernhardt, Pope Leo XIII, President Roosevelt, and others. For Vanity Fair magazine, Chartran created caricatures of Prime Minister Waddington, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas fils, Prince Napoléon, and more. In 1886, he was commissioned to decorate the grand staircase of the Sorbonne, and a little later, the city halls of Paris and Montrouge.
In his private mansion, Chartran received the entirety of Paris, including artists, writers, and politicians. At lavish receptions, he also met American billionaires, including Henry Clay Frick.
Chartran's work is as meticulous as it is poetic. Busy with commissions from the French government, Chartran produced only a few paintings, a significant number of which were acquired by the greatest French and foreign museums. His works are very rare on the market.
This work, Young Woman in a Kimono, is infinitely elegant. The young woman's face, her posture, and her attire reflect the extreme refinement of French and American high society at the end of the 19th century. The magnificent kimono, with its soft folds, complements the vegetal and Japanese-style decor, which was very popular in 1880. At the age of 35, Chartran painted this sublime portrait just as he was beginning to become well-known. His financial means allowed him to commission a truly exceptional frame for this painting. Decorated with laurels, this substantial frame is enriched with rows of pearls, ropes, and hearts. Finely carved and gilded, it has recently been restored. The painting, oil on a beveled wood panel, is in perfect condition, having simply been stripped and revarnished. The colors are intact, and there are no signs of damage.
Main museums where Chartran's works are exhibited:
Pittsburgh (Carnegie Museum of Art), Washington (White House Treaty Room), Paris (Musée Carnavalet), Paris (Musée d'Orsay), Boston (Museum of Fine Arts), Florence (Uffizi Gallery), etc...
