Ernest Laurent
1859 - 1929Jeune fille, c. 1904
Signed
Charcoal and crayon on paper
12 x 9 in, 30.5 x 23 cm
Ernest Laurent formed part of a generation of artists working in Paris as Impressionism flourished and the avant-garde began to explore the daring boundaries of Divisionism and Neo-Impressionism. As a...
Ernest Laurent formed part of a generation of artists working in Paris as Impressionism flourished and the avant-garde began to explore the daring boundaries of Divisionism and Neo-Impressionism.
As a young student at the Paris Ecole National des Beaux-Arts in 1879, Laurent became close friends with Georges Seurat and Edmond Aman-Jean, who equally rejected their traditional training in favour of working independently from an atelier. Alongside Seurat and Aman-Jean, Laurent adopted a visual language of inspired by the painterly surface of Impressionism and Symbolist masters such as Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, but grounded in classical techniques. Laurent’s style was acclaimed by his contemporaries and acknowledged in 1889 when he won the Prix de Rome, then in 1919 when he was appointed professor at the Académie Nationale, and finally in 1921 member of the Conseil des Musées Nationaux.
This delicate drawing of a young girl was the study for a painting submitted to the Salon in 1904, entitled 'Portrait'. Originally acquired by Henri Le Sidaner, ‘Jeune fille’ was gifted to his son Louis Le Sidaner where it remained a treasured part of the family collection. The two artists forged an intimate friendship in 1894 when Le Sidaner returned to Paris from his travels through Holland and Italy. Working closely, Laurent visited Le Sidaner’s studio at Versailles in 1917 to see the master’s work in person and to paint an intimate portrait of the artist’s wife Camille.
As a young student at the Paris Ecole National des Beaux-Arts in 1879, Laurent became close friends with Georges Seurat and Edmond Aman-Jean, who equally rejected their traditional training in favour of working independently from an atelier. Alongside Seurat and Aman-Jean, Laurent adopted a visual language of inspired by the painterly surface of Impressionism and Symbolist masters such as Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, but grounded in classical techniques. Laurent’s style was acclaimed by his contemporaries and acknowledged in 1889 when he won the Prix de Rome, then in 1919 when he was appointed professor at the Académie Nationale, and finally in 1921 member of the Conseil des Musées Nationaux.
This delicate drawing of a young girl was the study for a painting submitted to the Salon in 1904, entitled 'Portrait'. Originally acquired by Henri Le Sidaner, ‘Jeune fille’ was gifted to his son Louis Le Sidaner where it remained a treasured part of the family collection. The two artists forged an intimate friendship in 1894 when Le Sidaner returned to Paris from his travels through Holland and Italy. Working closely, Laurent visited Le Sidaner’s studio at Versailles in 1917 to see the master’s work in person and to paint an intimate portrait of the artist’s wife Camille.
Provenance
Collection Louis Le Sidaner