Pierre André Brouillet (French, 1857-1914)
PROPERTY OF THE LATE SIR ARTHUR GILBERT TO BE SOLD FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE GILBERT COLLECTION AT SOMERSET HOUSE
Pierre André Brouillet (French, 1857-1914)

Suzanne et les vieux messieurs

Details
Pierre André Brouillet (French, 1857-1914)
Suzanne et les vieux messieurs
signed and dated 'André Brouillet 1890' (lower left)
oil on canvas
38 3/8 x 51¼ in. (97.5 x 130.1 cm.)
Painted in 1890
Exhibited
Paris, Salon, 1890, no. 366.

Lot Essay

The son of the sculptor Pierre-Amadee Brouillet, Pierre-Andre Brouillet was educated in Poitiers before entering the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1879 as a student of Jean-Léon Gérôme, and made his first entry into the Salon of 1879. By 1880, he is listed in the studio of J.-P. Laurens.

At first glance, it appears that this painting is simply a depiction of the interior of a Parisian café, complete with elegant clientele and a bustling background. Upon closer inspection, and introspection, it is clearly more than that. Brouilllet clearly titled his work Suzanne et les vieux messieurs, and he had chosen to set the Biblical story of Susannah and the Elders in a completely modern setting. In place of the outdoor bath described in the Bible, this Susannah is comfortably seated in a Parisian café, and the two elders, rather than hiding sheepishly out of sight, are blatantly trying to woo the young woman.

More from 19th Century European Art

View All
View All