International studio (30.1906/1907(1907))

Alfred Stevens, Belgian Painter

Paris. This canvas was bought by the French
Government, and presented to the Mus^e of Mar-
seilles. In the same Salon he had also Le
D'ccouragement de VArtiste, and a scene studied
from nature—the spectacle of a man found assas-
sinated at Montmartre, painted in the historical
style, according to advice given the young master
by Troyon. This painting won him the first
medal. In 1855 he obtained another medal at
the Exposition Universelle for the picture named
Chez Soi; and in the same year, at the Antwerp
Exhibition, he was given the cross of the Order of
Leopold—thanks to the influence of Henry Leys.
Two years later La Consolation
won such admiration in the Paris
Salon that Gustave Planche, the
famous critic of “ La Presse,”
would not deign to bestow a
word on anyone save Alfred
Stevens and Gustave Courbet.
At the Paris Exposition Uni-
verselle of 1867 Alfred Stevens
triumphed afresh; he exhibited
eighteen works—marvels that
in his “ Salons ” Thore Burger
qualified in these terms: “The
Dame en Rose . . . shines amid
the elegant company like the
finest flower in the centre of a
fresh bouquet. This painting,
and some others by M. Alfred
Stevens, exhale a sort of per-
fume. There is certainly much
analogy between colours and
odours. The Dame en Rose
smells a little of the camellia.
The young woman in pale
lemon-colour smells of amber.
. . .In Tons les Bonheurs a
beautiful woman in garnet -
coloured velvet is suckling her
child. After the pink lady and
the lemon-yellow lady, one of
the most fascinating is the pearl-
coloured lady. She stands in
profile beside a table, upon
which is a vase of Fleurs d’Au-
tomne: she has flaxen hair, and
a black mantilla over her dress,
flat grey in tone. All in a minor
key, as we should say in music ;
all ‘ broken,’ as we may say in
painting. The great colourist
Velazquez played on such

gamuts of harmony. Another young girl admires
LFnde a Paris — a little elephant of precious
materials. Another hangs a branch of box over
a portrait. Another reads a letter which brings
her Une douloureuse Certitude. Another looks
out of the window to see whether Le Temps in-
certain will prevent her from going out. Another
. . . but you see very well that what they are doing
is a matter of indifference. They are living the
lives of ‘women of quality.’ The insignificance
of the ‘subject’ in these pictures by Alfred Stevens
possesses therefore its own significance, perfectly
expressing the ways of aristocratic society—even


“LA VISITE MATINALE” by ALFRED STEVENS
{In A. Surens’ Collection. Photo. P. Pecker, Brussels)

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