Ref.15009
Conrad KIESEL (after), Japonist portrait of a woman wearing a kimono, circa 1880

This portrait of a European woman dressed in Japanese attire within a Japan-inspired setting was likely created after a work by the German painter Conrad Kiesel, which shares the same features. Several copies of this work, executed like ours in oil printed on embossed leather, were nevertheless attributed to Franz Schier. The woman, with European facial features, stands out against a background of embossed leather decorated with floral, butterfly (a symbol of eternity in Far Eastern cultures) and dragon motifs. Dressed in traditional Japanese style, she wears a short-sleeved kimono (tomesode) with an obi (broad Japanese belt) tied at the back. Her hair is arranged with a butterfly-shaped comb and hair sticks, and she holds a fan in her right hand. However, her bracelet hints more at general orientalism than strict japonisme. In the lower right corner, her legs appear entwined within a cluster of pink flowers, subtly contributing to the imbalance in her posture. The fascination for Japanese art that emerged in the latter half of the 19th century – following Japan’s re-opening to international trade and its participation in the 1867 Universal Exposition – came to be known as “japonism”. This movement sparked a revolution in Western art, profoundly influencing artists across various fields. This portrait reflects the powerful impact of Japanese art on Western creations of the late 19th century, not only in subject matter but also in execution, particularly in the intentional absence of depth and perspective, which is slightly offset by the presence of flowers.

Ref.15551
Gustave VANAISE, Innocence, 1884

This painting titled Innocence was created by Gustave Vanaise in 1884. Gustave Vanaise (Ghent, 1854-Saint-Gilles, 1902) studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent under Théodore Canneel, and later in Brussels. He notably produced historical paintings, portraits, and intimate scenes; many of his works are preserved at the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent. Vanaise participated regularly in the Paris Salon from 1879 to 1888; in 1884, he exhibited a Young Boy with a Pigeon, which may be this very piece. This work is an allegory of Innocence. Against a backdrop of a luminous yellow cloth stands the figure of a young boy lying on the ground, propped up on his elbows; his youth and nudity, both symbols of innocence, are further emphasized by the dove he holds in his left hand, a symbol of purity. The boy seems about to kiss the bird on the beak. The scene is completed on the right by a low-relief representing a gentle Madonna and Child, set against the background. The artist’s choice of subject and treatment place this work at the boundary between allegory and intimate scene, a genre in which the painter excelled: the presence of the yellow sheet in the background, intended to close the scene, adds to the composition’s closed, intimate character, while the use of symbols and the presence of the Virgin and Child tend to place the work in allegorical painting. In a similar spirit, Vanaise painted The Bacchante, a piece housed at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. It depicts a woman crowned with ivy lying sensually on the ground, while a young boy resembling the one in Innocence – though likely a young satyr here – plays the flute.