Herman Jean-Joseph Richir
(Belgian, 1866-1942)

"Elegie", ca. 1932

oil on canvas
signed lower center, signed and titled en verso, with numerous exhibition and auction labels. Framed.
54-1/4" x 42-1/2"

Provenance: M. Teichman, Brussels, Belgium; Christie's, New York, February 25, 1988, lot 56; Christie's, New York, May 20, 1996, lot 232.

Exhibited: "Salon (Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts)", Paris, 1932; "Towarzystwo Przyjaciot Sztuk Pieknyci w Krakowie", Krakow, 1935; "Cercle Royal Artistique et Litteraire", Brussels, 1947.

Notes: "He often paints his nudes from the back and succeeds in a surprising way in introducing not only a richness of nuances of colors but also the suggestion of life and action. In this field, Richir's art remains unmatched."

- Joost de Geest, art historian

As de Geest's comment illustrates, Richir approached his female subjects, particularly unclothed, with an unparalleled psychological depth seldom seen in nude depictions at the time. Beauty for Richir was a faithful reproduction of the sitter that resided as much in the flesh as it did in the mood and expression of the figure, earning Richir the distinction as one of the best Belgian painters of women in the early 20th century. Influenced by the academic traditions of the Neo-classical school, his paintings elucidate depth through their fine attention to the nuances of color and line harmony, especially in his expert handling of rare fabrics and draperies. "Elegie", the work offered here, exemplifies Richir's mastery. Depicted with reverse light from behind and silhouetted in strong lines before the veiled window, "Elegie", in her contemplative pose, evokes the poetic sorrow of her name; the pile of flowing drapery on the bed beneath her spills outward in a symphony of tertiary blues. Georges Bierand, in his critique of Richir's nudes, poignantly summarizes the artist's virtuoso: "Is it necessary to admire the perfection of drawing more than the translucent brilliance of color? Under the pearly epidermis, a young blood circulates because it is a precious gift of the painter to know, through the magic of color, to recreate on the canvas this internal flow that makes palpitate the flesh".

In addition to nudes, Richir had a prodigious career as a portraitist and painter of allegorical and mythological scenes, earning the second Prize of Rome in 1885 and exhibiting at the Paris Salon and Triennial fair in Ghent from 1888-1892. After studying under the direction of Jean-Francois Portaels at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels from 1884-1888, the Academy appointed him professor of drawing and painting respectively in 1900 and 1905 positions. Richir maintained his position at the Academy until 1927, often times acting as its director, while developing a lucrative portraiture business among the Belgium royalty that included King Albert I of Belgium and his wife Queen Elizabeth, King Leopold II of Belgium and the Count of Flanders.