Lot Essay
Henry Bouvet was born in Marseilles in 1859. He began his
artistic training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Lyon in 1878
where he studied with Poncet and Dumas; submitting in 1882 his
first entry to the Lyon Salon, Portrait of a Young Girl. In
1891 he moved to Paris where he briefly worked with Eugène
Carrière, and from 1892 onwards he was a regular exhibitor at
the Paris Salon. Self Portrait of the Artist in His Studio
is painted in the same year that Bouvet was honored with a bronze
medal at the Exposition Universelle for his painting Soir
(Musée d'Orsay).
In our painting, Bouvet illustrates his command of the
innovations of the Impressionists. His figure, cut off at the
knees, is pressed to the frontal plane of the composition,
against a backdrop of easels that form an interlacing network of
patterns together with the floorboards. He thereby creates an
abstract effect, reminiscent of Caillebotte's The
Floor-Scrapers (Musée d'Orsay). Bouvet may have also
modelled aspects of his Self Portrait of the Artist in His
Studio on Manet's Portrait of Emile Zola (Musée d'Orsay; fig.1) which depicts Zola in Manet's studio, surrounded by catalogues
promoting Manet, oil sketches of his paintings (including the
immediately recognizable image of Olympia) and various
Japanese collectables. In our picture Bouvet similarly depicts himself in his studio surrounded by his paintings and a Japanese parasol.
Belle Epoque Paris was commonly recognized as the pinnacle of
style and fashion, and many of Bouvet pictures depicted interior
scenes of contemporary life. In this painting Bouvet presents a
prosperous image of the artist as refined, elegant and
sophisticated. Wearing the fashionable clothing of the period,
Bouvet exudes confidence with his forceful stance and direct
gaze. He transforms his studio from a place of work to an
environment of relaxation with canvases casually arranged
within the setting. However, as with Manet's portrait of Zola,
this can be seen as a thinly veiled self-promotion whose target
would have been the growing group of French and American
collectors.
artistic training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Lyon in 1878
where he studied with Poncet and Dumas; submitting in 1882 his
first entry to the Lyon Salon, Portrait of a Young Girl. In
1891 he moved to Paris where he briefly worked with Eugène
Carrière, and from 1892 onwards he was a regular exhibitor at
the Paris Salon. Self Portrait of the Artist in His Studio
is painted in the same year that Bouvet was honored with a bronze
medal at the Exposition Universelle for his painting Soir
(Musée d'Orsay).
In our painting, Bouvet illustrates his command of the
innovations of the Impressionists. His figure, cut off at the
knees, is pressed to the frontal plane of the composition,
against a backdrop of easels that form an interlacing network of
patterns together with the floorboards. He thereby creates an
abstract effect, reminiscent of Caillebotte's The
Floor-Scrapers (Musée d'Orsay). Bouvet may have also
modelled aspects of his Self Portrait of the Artist in His
Studio on Manet's Portrait of Emile Zola (Musée d'Orsay; fig.1) which depicts Zola in Manet's studio, surrounded by catalogues
promoting Manet, oil sketches of his paintings (including the
immediately recognizable image of Olympia) and various
Japanese collectables. In our picture Bouvet similarly depicts himself in his studio surrounded by his paintings and a Japanese parasol.
Belle Epoque Paris was commonly recognized as the pinnacle of
style and fashion, and many of Bouvet pictures depicted interior
scenes of contemporary life. In this painting Bouvet presents a
prosperous image of the artist as refined, elegant and
sophisticated. Wearing the fashionable clothing of the period,
Bouvet exudes confidence with his forceful stance and direct
gaze. He transforms his studio from a place of work to an
environment of relaxation with canvases casually arranged
within the setting. However, as with Manet's portrait of Zola,
this can be seen as a thinly veiled self-promotion whose target
would have been the growing group of French and American
collectors.