01 work, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, LUCIEN LÉVY-DHURMER’s La bourrasque, with Footnotes #230

Sold for GBP 126,000 in Jul 2022

La bourrasque, which translates as ‘The squall’, formed part of a strikingly ethereal series of portraits based upon the theme of the four seasons. The present work illustrates autumn and became the subject matter of much experimentation during the late 1890s, resulting in a painting under this title being exhibited twice in Paris in 1896, first at the Galerie Georges Petit and later at the Salon (no. 1261). The present pastel is perhaps one of the artist’s most strikingly beautiful examples. The girl’s windswept hair falls in wisps upon her face and the vibrant, other-worldly colours instantly transport the viewer from the seasons in this world to those of another. More on this painting

Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer (September 30, 1865 – September 24, 1953) was a French Symbolist/Art Nouveau artist whose works include paintings, drawings, ceramics, furniture and interior design.

He was born Lucien Lévy in French Algeria. In 1879 he began studying drawing and sculpture in Paris. He first exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1882. In 1887 Lévy began making his living near Cannes in southern France, overseeing the decoration of ceramics. From 1886 to 1895 he worked as a ceramic decorator and then as artistic director of the studio of Clément Massier. Around 1892 he signed his first pieces of ceramics, which were influenced by Islamic Art. In 1895 he left for Paris to begin a career in painting; around this time he visited Italy and was further influenced by art of the Renaissance.

In 1896 he exhibited his first pastels and paintings. He earned high praise for the academic attention to detail with which he captured figures lost in a Pre-Raphaelite haze of melancholy, contrasted with bright Impressionist colouration.

After 1901 Lévy-Dhurmer moved away from expressly Symbolist content, incorporating more landscapes into his work because of his travels in Europe and North Africa. He continued to draw inspiration from music and attempted to capture works of great composers such as Beethoven in painted form.

He died in Le Vésinet in 1953. More on Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer

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