Ernest Joseph LAURENT (1859-1929) - Lot 7

Ernest Joseph LAURENT (1859-1929) Portrait of Jane B Watercolor and gouache on paper Signed "Ernest Laurent" lower left 12 x 9 cm (Some brown spots) PROVENANCE Estate, then private collection NOTICE A student of Henri Lehmann at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Ernest Laurent was influenced by the Impressionists and became friends with Georges Seurat, Edmond Aman-Jean and Henri Le Sidaner. In 1885, his Annunciation, exhibited at the Salon, was bought by the State, enabling him to make a trip to Italy. In 1889, he won the Prix de Rome with Christ and the Paralytic. From 1896 onwards, he painted mainly female portraits, which were to become one of his favorite themes. In 1900, at a private exhibition held by Paul Durand-Ruel, he was commissioned to paint four panels for the Sorbonne in Paris. In 1912, Ernest Laurent was named Officier de la Légion d'Honneur, and elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1919. He was then appointed professor at the École des Beaux-Arts from 1919 to 1929, and a member of the Conseil des Musées Nationaux. In 1923, he shared an exhibition at Georges Petit with Le Sidaner and Henri Martin. Heir to the Impressionist technique and tempted by Symbolism at its most intimate, Ernest Laurent paid particular attention to women, whose fragility he associated with flowers and the mysteries of inner life. Laurent produced remarkable lithographs, published in L'Estampe moderne (1897), the Gazette des beaux-arts (1901), and L'Art et les Artistes (1906).