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Lot 419
Le Midi. 1901.
Passed
Est.
$2,000 - $2,500
Live Auction
PAI-XC: Rare Posters
Live Bidding began Jul 18, 2023 at 11:00 AM EDT
Category
Description
Artist: ÉLISABETH SONREL (1874-1953)
Size: 20 1/4 x 27 1/2 in./51.5 x 69.8 cm
Condition: A-/ Slight crease at upper left corner.
Reference: PAI-XLIII, 537 (var)
Key Words: Art Nouveau

Le Midi. 1901.
Sonrel’s decorative panels are a bit more painterly than Mucha’s, but they’re equally as effective as the better known artist’s work. Having previously applied her talents to flowers (see PAI-XLII, 460) and birds (see PAI-XLIII, 539), she turns her attention to seasonal concerns, the second such personification we’ve seen from the artist (the first came in PAI-XXXIX, 469). Here, she explores the quiet solitude of summertime solemnity with the casual loveliness of a thought-absorbed, long-necked beauty pausing in an apple grove by the sea. Born in Tours, Sonrel was quite possibly the daughter of painter Stephane Sonrel, from whom she received her early artistic guidance. To further her studies, she moved to Paris where she became the pupil of Jules Lefebvre at his École des Beaux-Arts. Beginning in 1893, she exhibited her work at the Salon des Artistes Français, especially large watercolors of idealized women that have both a certain Pre-Raphaelite intensity and an affinity for French symbolism, inspired by Arthurian romance, biblical subjects, archaic legends, and medieval love. Although Sonrel’s output was known during her lifetime, it’s only in the past twenty years or so that her work has again received the attention it deserves.