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Lot Essay
A student of Leon Cogniet, Hugues Merle first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1847 and continued to do so annually until 1880. He was twice awarded the second class medal in 1861 and 1863, and received the medaille de Légion d'honneur on 14 August 1866. His works are included in some of the world's leading museum collections, such as Amour maternel at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Une mendiante at the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris, and La lecture de la Bible at The Wallace Collection, London.
Jeune fille tenant un enfant endormi is a perfect example of Hugues Merle's outstanding mastery of the Academic technique. Excellent draughtsmanship and a close study of the human anatomy were considered the cornerstones of the Academic tradition. Years were spent at the Academy studying and drawing the human figure, and the excellence of artists was judged based on their ability to accurately and naturally depict the human form and expression. For even the most experienced and decorated artists the most difficult of all extremities to articulate in paint was considered to be human hands. Furthermore, the most challenging texture to reproduce, all the while keeping in true form with its appearance in nature was human hair. The very thin, almost translucent glazes of color that needed to be applied one on top of another was overwhelming to even the most patient of artists. Only a handful of the 19th Century painters have been able to truly replicate the shiny and silky surface of human hair all the while managing to give a sense of each individual strain. Amongst these one would count the great William Bouguereau, and Emile Munier. In Jeune fille tenant un enfant endormi, Hugues Merle's handling of the sitters' hair as well as their hands is a true testament to Merle's excellence of form and technique, and places him squarely in the company of Bouguereau and Munier.
Jeune fille tenant un enfant endormi is a perfect example of Hugues Merle's outstanding mastery of the Academic technique. Excellent draughtsmanship and a close study of the human anatomy were considered the cornerstones of the Academic tradition. Years were spent at the Academy studying and drawing the human figure, and the excellence of artists was judged based on their ability to accurately and naturally depict the human form and expression. For even the most experienced and decorated artists the most difficult of all extremities to articulate in paint was considered to be human hands. Furthermore, the most challenging texture to reproduce, all the while keeping in true form with its appearance in nature was human hair. The very thin, almost translucent glazes of color that needed to be applied one on top of another was overwhelming to even the most patient of artists. Only a handful of the 19th Century painters have been able to truly replicate the shiny and silky surface of human hair all the while managing to give a sense of each individual strain. Amongst these one would count the great William Bouguereau, and Emile Munier. In Jeune fille tenant un enfant endormi, Hugues Merle's handling of the sitters' hair as well as their hands is a true testament to Merle's excellence of form and technique, and places him squarely in the company of Bouguereau and Munier.