Girard, ‘Place de la Concorde’, impressionist figural cityscape, oil on board

Description: Saint-Jean Girard, ‘Place de la Concorde’, impressionist figural cityscape, oil on hardboard. Circa 1890–1910. Dimensions: 15 ½ x 9 (panel); 25 x 18 ¾ (framed). In a large and spectacular giltwood and gesso period frame. Overall very good condition, minor surface soiling and yellowing to varnish. Light soiling and minor losses to frame (see photos). An old (gallery?) label on the back of the board erroneously identifies the artist as ‘G. L. Gerard’ (unknown), a poor palaeographical analysis of the signature in the bottom right of the panel, which can with fair confidence be read as S.J. Girard, thus suggesting Saint-Jean Girard (1849–1910), a Lyonnaise painter who specialised in portraits, particularly women’s portraits of the haute bourgeoisie. Foregrounded in the scene is a young woman in fine attire, eyes fixed on the ground in front of her and slightly lifting her skirt tails as she walks through the vibrant city. Beyond her the familiar frames of the Place de la Concorde loom in the distance, the Hotel de Crillon on the left and the Hotel de la Marine on the right, the base of the Louis-Philippe obelisk in the foreground and the pediment of the Madeleine church at the top of the rue Royale in the further distance. The perspective is true from the vantagepoint of the viewer (suggesting the painting was painted in situ), with the Pont de la Concorde behind the viewer, the Tuileries to the right, and the gardens of the Champs-Elysées to the left. An overall charming and delightful painting in a monumental frame, offering a unique contemporary glimpse into the Paris of Proust and the Belle-Époque.

Price: 1800 USD

Location: New York, New York

End Time: 2025-02-05T20:46:00.000Z

Shipping Cost: 25 USD