'Parisian Model' by Georg Pauli, 1911, Paris, Royal Academy, André Lhote, Fin De Siècle, Carmen

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A strong, character-driven study of the artist's model, "Carmen", painted during the first year of the artist's second Paris period, … Read more A strong, character-driven study of the artist's model, "Carmen", painted during the first year of the artist's second Paris period, when he resolutely abandoned his earlier Beaux-Arts style to show his intuitive mastery of the principles of Modernism.

Initialed lower right, 'GP', for Georg Pauli (Swedish, 1855-1935) titled, 'Paris' and dated 1911; additionally signed, verso, and bearing the art-supplier's stamp, 'Paul Foinet Fils, 21 rue Bréa, Paris'.

Born in Sweden, Pauli studied at the Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm from 1871-75 and, again, from 1878-79. With Anders Zorn, he was a member of the ‘Opponenterna’ (the Opponents), a group of artists formed in reaction to what they viewed as the staid conservatism of the Academy. To further their aims, they also founded ‘The League of Artists’ to more assertively represent the Scandinavian modernist movement at the European Salons. Pauli, along with a number of other Swedish artists, moved to the suburbs of Paris in the late 1870’s, settling in Grez-sur-Loing, a village close to Barbizon that had been frequented and painted by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. Others who joined this art colony included Carl Larsson (1853-1919) and his wife Karin Bergöö (1859-1928), who he met there, August Strindberg (1849-1912), Bruno Liljefors (1860-1939), Julia Beck, Peder Krøyer (1851-1909), and Pauli's future wife Hanna Hirsch (1864-1940); prominent American artists included John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) and Robert Vonnoh (1858-1933).

Pauli subsequently moved into Paris to study at the Académie Julian. Here, he became an admirer of the Naturalism movement whose leading proponent was Jules Bastien-Lepage (1848-1884). Lepage's paintings “Les Foins” of 1877 (Musée d’Orsay) and “October” 1878 (National Gallery of Victoria) were to prove hugely influential on his development. These two works, together with that of Léon Augustin L'hermitte, a fellow painter of Naturalism, became the inspiration for Pauli’s “La Collation des Paysans a la Recolte du Colza, Calvados”, which is widely acknowledged as the artist’s masterpiece. It was exhibited at the 1885 Paris Salon, where it received an honorable mention and, subsequently, acquired by the Swedish National Museum (National Museum, Stockholm, 1945, cat. no. 436). Pauli went on to exhibit at the Salons of 1889 and 1900.

In 1887, he married the artist Hannah Hirsch and they subsequently traveled and studied throughout Italy. During this period, he also made a particular study of Renaissance fresco painting, a medium for which he would later become renowned in his native Sweden. On returning to Sweden, he received numerous private and public commissions and his large-scale frescoes can now be viewed in public buildings including in Gothenburg City Museum, formerly the East India Company headquarters, Stockholm City Hall and Royal Theatre among others. In addition to his work as a fine artist, Pauli was also a prolific author who published influential works on art theory and art history. In 1911, the year of this painting, Pauli returned to Paris where he continued his studies of Modernist theory at the studio of André Lhote (1885-1962) and developed the interest in Cubism that was to recur in his later works.

Over the course of a long career, Pauli exhibited widely and with success and was the recipient of numerous prizes, medals and juried awards. The artist is well listed in all relevant art-reference works and his paintings are held in private and public collections including the permanent collections of the Gothenburg Museum, the Helsinki Museum, the National Gallery of Finland; and the Swedish National Gallery.

Reference:
E. Benezit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs, Jacques Busse, 1999 Nouvelle Édition, Gründ 1911, Vol. 10, page 647; Thieme-Becker Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zu Gegenwart, Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag 1992, Vol. 26, page 310; Weilbach, Dansk Kunstnerleksikon, the Castle and Cultural Agency, Copenhagen; et al. See less