Mathilde Sée - Chinese Vase, Grapes And Figs

Chinese vase, grapes and figs
Oil on canvas
55x46 cm / 72.3x62.7 cm framed
Signed lower left “Mathilde Sée”

Daughter of a rich banker of Alsatian origin, portrayed in her youth by James Tissot and Paul- César Helleu, Mathilde Sée was not destined to work. However, when her father lost his fortune on the stock market in 1885, she decided to gain financial independence by creating fashion designs and also as an artist.
In these two areas, the one nicknamed “Fleur de chic” is successful. Admitted to the Salon in 1885, Mathilde Sée particularly distinguished herself in the genre of still life, in watercolor and oil, and was the subject of no fewer than 7 monographic exhibitions between 1909 and 1927 at the Galerie Georges. Petit, one of the main Parisian art galleries. She also exhibits at the Knoedler Gallery, in her Neuilly studio, at the Magasins du Printemps in Deauville and in London. For herr bouquets of flowers as for her still lifes of fruit, critics praise her abilities as a colorist, her knowledge of drawing, but also her sense of arrangement and presentation.
An article[1] illustrated with a black and white photograph reveals that this oil on canvas was exhibited at the Galerie Georges Petit in March 1927. The reproduction is titled Vase of China, grapes and figs but in the catalog of this exhibition, it appears under n°75 and the title Vase of China and grapes (still life). [1]

AA, “Flowers of Mme Mathilde Sée. Galerie Georges Petit”, La Renaissance de l’art français et des industries de luxe, January 1, 1927, p. 154.