Henry Caro-Delvaille

Henry Caro-Delvaille (French, 1876–1928)

This work is offered in a carved 19th century stiff-leaf carved giltwood frame

Henry Caro-Delvaille was born in 1876 as Henri Delvaille in Bayonne, France. After studying from 1895 to 1897 at the Bayonne School of Fine Arts, Delvaille became a pupil of Léon Bonnat (1833–1922) at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He exhibited for the first time in the Salon of the Society of French artists in Paris in 1899. He won a medal in 1901 with the painting entitled La Manucure, which is now in the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires, Argentine. Delvaille was also a member of the National Society of Fine Arts since 1903, and became secretary in 1904. In 1905, he obtained the gold medal of the International Exhibition of Monaco and, in 1910, he became a Knight of the French Legion of Honor.

Captivated by female beauty and the self-conscious nature of his subjects, Delvaille was noted for his portraits and paintings of women, such as this one. A very similar painting appears in a photograph of the artist in his studio, taken by Maurice-Louis Branger.

Signed H. Caro Delaville (upper left)

Christine Gouzi, Henry Caro-Delvaille (1876-1928): Peintre de la Belle Époque, de Paris à New York. Dijon: Faton, 2016, page 15.