Pierre Carrier-Belleuse: Portrait of Emile Jean Deschanel (1913)



Figure 1.--Pierre Carrier-Belleuse did not often paint children. We note only one portrait of a boy, almost certainly a commission. The boy is Emile Jean Deschanel who he painted in 1913. The portrait is unusual in two respects. First, not only is it the only child portrait by Belleuse that we can find. Second, the sailor blouse had short gathered sleeves. This is something we do not see in the photographic record.

Pierre Carrier-Belleuse was a Parisian painter, son of a famour scuptor Albert Ernest Belleuse. His father encoueaged his drawing and actually gavevhim lessons. As a youth he studied under Cabanel and Galland at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He first showed his work at the Paris Salon in 1875. His portfolio includes a lot of women. As a result, his work provides a marvelous record of women's clothing in the late-19th and early-20th century. He liked to paint balet dancers. Some of the most wonderful balet images along with Degas were created by Carrier-Belleuse. He was a master in pastels, medium popular with the Impressionists. He also did some charming genre works as well as a few landscapes, historical subjects and portrais. He received an honorable mention for his work in 1887 and a silver medal at the Exposition Universelle in 1889. He did not often paint children. We note only one portrait of a boy, almost certainly a commission. The boy is Emile Jean Deschanel. He looks to be about 10 years old. He was the son of Paul Deschanel who was President of the Chamber of Deputies (1902-12) and then President of France (February - September 1920). He resigned on account of ill health, hence the short term of office. The importance of the father perhaps accounts for the importance of the portrait, and why it departed from Carrier-Belleuse' normal subjects The portrait was painted in 1913. It is unusual in two respects. First, not only is it the only child portrait by Belleuse that we can find. Second, the sailor blouse had short gathered sleeves. This is something we do not see in the photographic record.







HBC





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Created: 8:42 PM 1/31/2011
Last updated: 5:53 AM 2/1/2011