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Lot Essay
Born and educated in The Hague, Kaemmerer left the Netherlands in 1865 and went to Paris, which became his lieu d'élection and provided an inexhaustible source of pictorial inspiration. Fascinated by the Parisian train de vie, he became the portrayed 'poet' of the French upper class of the Directoire, which he portrayed in his sophisticated oils, watercolours and charcoals. At the centre of his interest was the vivid description of the loisirs of Parisian high society, which he portrayed with an exceptionally observant eye.
In La Promenade, one can admire Kaemmerer's attention to the most minute details of the ladies' rich toilettes - a vibrant rendition of the trends en vogue in Paris in the second half of the 19th Century. The artist faithfully respects the'dictates' of fashion: the tight-lacing of the corsets, the wide skirts in pastel colours adorned with thin silk ribbons, the elegant puff of the sleeves which was imagined to be harking back to the dresses of the Renaissance, and the satin hats, trimmed with colour-matching ribbons. Perfectly à la mode, the young women walk coquettishly, led by their governess - severe censor of the merry jeu de séduction of her protégées.
In La Promenade, one can admire Kaemmerer's attention to the most minute details of the ladies' rich toilettes - a vibrant rendition of the trends en vogue in Paris in the second half of the 19th Century. The artist faithfully respects the'dictates' of fashion: the tight-lacing of the corsets, the wide skirts in pastel colours adorned with thin silk ribbons, the elegant puff of the sleeves which was imagined to be harking back to the dresses of the Renaissance, and the satin hats, trimmed with colour-matching ribbons. Perfectly à la mode, the young women walk coquettishly, led by their governess - severe censor of the merry jeu de séduction of her protégées.