Alfred Stevens

Collection A. Doucet de Tillier
L. Rotthier (acquired at the beginning of the 20th century)
G. Paillet-Rotthier, Brussels
Private Collector (by descent, and sold, Sotheby's, London, May 30, 2008, lot 308, illustrated)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner  

Possibly, Paris, Salon du Champs de Mars, 1894, no. 1097
Brussels & Antwerp, L'oeuvre d'Alfred Stevens, 1907, no. 31
Charleroi, Palais des Beaux Arts, Rétrospective Alfred Stevens, 1975, no. 24

Robert de Montesquïou, "Alfred Stevens," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1900, p. 110
G. Mourey, "Alfred Stevens," Les Arts, December 1906, no. 60
Gustave Van Zype, Les frères Stevens, Brussels, 1936, p. 108, no. 192 (erroneously catalogued as oil on canvas)

 

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This work on panel is probably slightly dirty and would respond to cleaning, however it looks marvelous as is. The panel is stable and does not appear to have developed any cracks or instability. There are no reinforcements on the reverse. There appear to be no restorations of any note in the face or the hands and it is our hope that during cleaning, a removal of a dirt layer and a fresh varnish will provide more clarity and reveal a painting in beautiful state.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

While hailed by his contemporary, the artist Félicien Rops, as the "best Belgian painter," Alfred Stevens also displayed an affinity with the artistic techniques burgeoning in Paris in the last decades of the nineteenth century. In fact, the composition of a woman gazing directly at the viewer recalls such works as Édouard Manet's Le Balcon of 1868-69 (fig. 1).

Stevens and Manet had formed a close friendship in Paris and often played dominoes in the Café Riche on the Boulevard des Italiens. Stevens' admiration for Manet was reciprocated by the Frenchman who once remarked, "Yesterday I saw at Hoschede's a superb Stevens, please pass on to him my sincere compliments."

Similarly to Manet's paintings of Parisians, Stevens' depictions of elegantly dressed ladies in fashionable attire were a record of his times. Stevens was well connected and his close association with the highest echelons of Second Empire society meant that even such social luminaries as Princesses Mathilde and Metternich often lent him dresses for his models.

Un Bleuet is a stunning example of Stevens' capabilities as an artist. The composition is very well organized, but deceptively complex. Each element hangs in a calculated balance of line, texture and color. The black intersecting lines of the balustrade and the shaded interior of the window frame and interior wall, create a bold device that effectively highlights the still life of flowers, hat and parasol, and serve to isolate the face of the subject herself. She is placed in harmony with the natural environment behind her, and one may very well imagine that the beautiful flowers were recently picked from the garden beyond.