Offered by Galerie de Frise
REQUEST INFORMATION
Charles-Emile FRANÇOIS
(Paris 1821 - 1902)
The Painter's Studio
Oil on panel
H. 28 cm; W. 22 cm
Signed and dated lower right
1901
A native of Paris, Charles-Emile François exhibited his works at the Salon des Artistes Français from 1848 to 1880 after studying in the studios of Georges Rouget and Durand-Duclos. He received several important commissions, including religious subjects and portraits, from the King of Portugal and the Bey of Tunis.
Our painting, executed at the very end of his life, has been almost entirely altered. Beneath the current layer of paint, we can clearly distinguish other paintings, drawings, and sculptures, positioned differently in the artist's studio. Their underlying silhouettes lend this highly commendable composition a sense of movement and the artist's spirit. Should we see in this portrait a self-portrait of the artist at a younger age?
