Louis Marie de Schryver

Private Collection, Akron, Ohio (since circa 1920)
Thence by descent through the family to the present owner

Paris, Salon, 1900, no. 1196

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: In all likelihood this painting has never been cleaned. However, the canvas has been lined, even though the cracking is quite raised, and clearly the lining is not performing well. The paint layer is very dirty yet is in beautiful condition. There are no restorations identifiable either to the naked eye or under ultraviolet light and while there may be some dots around the edges which could be removed when the picture is cleaned, the painting is essentially in beautiful state, despite the fact that the lining needs to be reexamined.
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After his debut at the Salon of 1872 at the remarkable age of thirteen, de Schryver earned acclaim for his depictions of Paris' most recognizable sites:  the fountains at the Place de la Concorde, the crowds of the Place de l'Opéra, and the grand edifices along the Champs-Élysées.  As a member of the privileged upper class, he innately understood the spirit of the Belle Époque and the leisure activities of the fashionable set. De Schryver developed a special interest in the many flower vendors in Paris, and chose them as the central subject of his oeuvre.  While these works brought de Schryver international fame and patronage, in 1900 he made a significant change in his production.  As in the present work, he depicted flower sellers from eighteenth century Paris -- their wagons overflowing with blooms and tables laden with ripe fruit, all along the crooked, cobbled streets of the city in an earlier era, with its pre-Haussmann, plastered buildings clustered together in various height and skewed angles.  De Schryver probably set his compositions in the past at the demand of his gallery, Tedesco Frères; the nostalgic strategy could perhaps help expand his market and capitalize on the vogue for the bygone time period.  Whatever the inspiration, by stepping back in time, de Schryver took a creative leap forward.  While his earlier works are closely cropped, giving the viewer a fleeting glimpse of life passing in the crowded city, the present work offers a panoramic view. This allows the eye to meander among the market-goers, from a richly dressed couple who bargain for the best blooms, to a maid carrying her dog (who gazes out at the viewer) as she inspects fine fabrics and dainty shoes. In de Schryver's pre-1900 compositions, the bounteous and varied blossoms offered by the flower vendors mirrored the costumes of the contemporary ladies whose salons and boudoirs he graced. In the present work, he expands on this association, intricately decorating the rich silks and satins with finely detailed floral embroidery.