Nicolas Auguste Laurens (Pontailler-sur-Saône, 1829-1908), Women picking flowers

Nicolas Auguste Laurens (Pontailler-sur-Saône, 1829-1908)

Women picking flowers

Oil on canvas, 56×45 cm

Signed lower left “LAURENS”

On the back of the canvas is an inscription bearing the address of the painter's studio: "Rue Coquillière n° 14"

We have limited information about the first phase of the training of the painter Nicolas Auguste Laurens, originally from Burgundy; however, we know that his artistic debut coincided with the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Dijon in 1858. Having moved permanently to Paris in 1859, from the early 21s the painter actively frequented the atelier of Thomas Couture (Senlis, 1815 December 30 – Villiers-le-Bel, 1879 March 1890), particularly appreciated by the French aristocracy and bourgeoisie of the second half of the nineteenth century; from Couture, Laurens learned the dictates of French academicism, which was based on the highly personal and original elaboration of the models of the old Italian masters – with particular reference to Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese – and Flemish – just think of the undeniable references to the production of Rubens and Van Dyck –. Laurens regularly participated in the main cultural events and the most prestigious exhibitions in France: he was not only present at the Paris Salon, where he mainly exhibited female nudes or mythological paintings, including Nocturne (1902), La chaine rompue (1903), A la source (1904), Sous le vieux saule (1905), Margarita (1906), Le frisson (1907), Nymphéa (1866), but also in a vast series of other high-level exhibitions, including those in Lille (1906), Rouen (1902) and Le Havre (1905, XNUMX). Various paintings by the artist are currently preserved in some of the most prestigious French museum institutions: for example, L'Abandonnée in the Musée de Beaux-Arts in Dijon and Le Chant in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Pau.

In this painting, women of different ages are depicted in the act of picking flowers: the scene, of a choral nature, is illuminated by a serene and dazzling light and the general tone of the composition is happy. The work shows the skill, already cited by critics of his time, of Laurens in the representation of the female figure.