Art of the Belle Epoque: 7 things to know

What defines the Belle Epoque?

Spanning the years between the end of France’s Second Empire (1852-1870) and the beginning of the First World War, the Belle Epoque was an era characterised by optimism, economic prosperity and technological and scientific progress in both Europe and the United States. In this prosperous climate, the arts flourished.

The French expression, however, was only applied to the era in retrospect, as a way of highlighting the decadence, frivolity and optimism that would come to an end with the outbreak of war.

Who were the most prominent artists of the period?

Notable Belle Epoque artists include Jean Béraud, Jacques-Emile Blanche, Giovanni Boldini, Henri Gervex, Paul César Helleu, John Singer Sargent, Louis Marie de Schryver, James Jacques Joseph Tissot and James McNeill Whistler. These artists were primarily making oil paintings, watercolours and works on paper — but some also produced sculpture and objets d’art.

What subjects did Belle Epoque artists paint?

Baron Haussmann’s modernisation of the centre of Paris saw the cramped medieval streets replaced with grand boulevards, parks and public squares. These newly developed public spaces became a playground for the elite of fashionable Parisian society. In their work, artists of the Belle Epoque strove to capture their rapidly changing environment and scenes of modern life.

These artists mostly depicted the upper classes, in pictures that are comparable to what one might find in Vogue or Tatler magazines today. People wanted to see what the leisured elite were doing in their spare time — the members of that elite wished to see their own lives reflected in paint.

This helps to explain the wealth of Belle Epoque pictures depicting fashionable folk at the opera, in elegant horse-drawn carriages, buying flowers, at the races, at cafés, promenading along grand boulevards, at the milliners, or reclining in opulent interiors. Fashion is also hugely important in these pictures, with artists chronicling the most au courant trends of their time.

Characteristic of the era are pictures depicting women in Paris and other European capitals wearing elaborate hats and dresses with fitted waists, minimal bustle and full A-line skirts — as are ‘swagger portraits’ commissioned by the luminaries, literati, royals and aristocrats of the 1890s.

How easy is it to recognise a Belle Epoque painting?

Many Belle Epoque artists moved away from studio work and academic renderings of their subjects to embrace a more spontaneous, ‘in situ’ style of painting characterised by light colours, quick brushstrokes and vibrant, upbeat subject matter.

De Schryver, who maintained a studio on the Rue Pergolèse, often painted subjects he had seen first-hand, while Béraud, known for his paintings of Parisian café and street life, would even paint from the back of a carriage on the Parisian streets.

Did Belle Epoque art remain fashionable?

The frivolity and gaiety that characterised the era was abruptly curtailed with the outbreak of the First World War, which shattered France’s economic and social fabric.

As sensibilities changed and new technologies developed, Belle Epoque painting began to look old-fashioned. It would not be long before modernism, shaped in part by the horrors of war, would take hold.

What is the market like for Belle Epoque works?

These artworks were hugely popular in their time, particularly in America — so much so that many of the prominent Parisian dealers, such as Adolphe Goupil and Paul Durand-Ruel, opened additional galleries in New York to meet the demand.

Today, Belle Epoque paintings are finding new admirers, both in America and internationally, so the market remains quite strong — particularly for rare examples of paintings by major artists that are still in private hands.

These beautiful depictions of modern life are well suited to cross-disciplinary collectors who are looking for decorative or complementary works. They are still remarkably affordable in comparison to Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works, offering an accessible entry point to new collectors seeking works by important artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Where can new collectors find out more?

It is likely that there are more brilliant examples of Belle Epoque paintings in museum collections across America than in France, owing to their great popularity among Gilded Age collectors and the enduring regard in which they are held outside Europe.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is therefore an excellent starting point, while the Musée d’Orsay in Paris is ground zero for Belle Epoque works in Europe.

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