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Signed lower left.
Oil on panel.
Dimensions frame included. Dimensions without frame : 60 x 73 cm.
The painting represents a view of "parterre d’Eau" with the view of the Versailles castle and its royal chapel in the background. The reservoir is decorated with stylized statues representing French rivers, accompagnied by nymphs and children. The verso of the painting is very interesting as it served as palettes for the painter. It is itself a coloured and abstract painting.
Painter, draftsman and illustrator Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scevola (Sète 1871 - 1950 Paris) had a brilliant portrait painter career. He was an excellent pastelliste. He exhibited regularly in Paris in the Salon des artistes français, than in the Salon de la Société nationale des beaux-arts. He was also the member of the Société des pastellistes de France, becoming the president. He was honoured "officier" of the Légion d'honneur in 1914. His Versailles landscapes are ones of his most appreciated works.
Public collections:
Brest, musée des Beaux-Arts : Portrait du sculpteur Paul-François Berthoud, toile marouflée sur carton fort, 33,5 × 26,5 cm10. Paris, musée d'Orsay : Portrait de Mlle T. ; Portrait de Madame Aïda Boni ; Sète, théâtre Molière : décor du foyer et panneaux.
Salons:
Salon de la Société nationale des beaux-arts : 1896 : Portrait du peintre Abel Truchet dans son atelier, pastel ; 1908 : Portrait du marquis de Massa, pastel11 ; 1909 : Portrait de Mlle W., pastel ; 1909 : Cour d'honneur, pastel ; 1911 : Portrait de Mlle Tiane, pastel ; 1912 : Portrait de M. Pierre Lafitte, pastel ; 1913 : Aïda Boni, de l'Opéra, pastel ; 1910 : Portrait de Mme V. G., pastel ; 1920 : Le Château de Versailles, pastel.
Bibliography:
E. Bénézit
G. Schurr, P. Cabanne : Dictionnaire des Petits Maîtres de la peinture, 1820 - 1920, tome I, Les Éditions de l'amateur, 1996, p. 516
