Emilie Charmy (1877 - 1974), Portrait Of A Young Woman

Oil on canvas. 38 x 45 cm. Signed lower left.

Émilie Charmy’s “Portrait of a Young Woman” presents, against a dark background, the bust of a young girl with a radiant face. Generous impasto brushstrokes create a striking contrast between the rosy skin and the deeper tones of the shadows. Her blonde hair, styled in soft curls, delicately frames her face, while her gaze—partly veiled, partly assertive—instantly commands attention. The flushed cheek and vermilion lips emphasize the model’s youthful freshness, and the faint smile hints at an inner mystery. Charmy, a pioneer of the French avant‑garde, employs here a limited palette—browns, ochres, pinks—that gives the portrait a warm intimacy. The centered, uncluttered composition highlights the painterly gesture: each visible stroke celebrates the materiality of the color. This painting bears witness to the artist’s interest in feminine psychology and subtle emotion. Straddling realism and impressionism, the work conveys Émilie Charmy’s sensitive modernity and her compassionate gaze on her subjects.

In 1898, Émilie Charmy left Saint-Étienne to move to Lyon with her brother Jean, where she trained under the painter Jacques Martin. She first exhibited in Paris in 1903 at the Indépendants, and in 1904, she settled with her brother in Saint-Cloud. She specialized in still life, which she regularly exhibited at the Indépendants between 1903 and 1914 (except in 1910) and at the Salon d'Automne from 1905 to 1912. Charmy also participated in several group exhibitions at the Berthe Weill gallery.

It was at these exhibitions, which brought together artists like Matisse and Girieud, that she met her future companion, Charles Camoin, in 1906. Together, they traveled around the Mediterranean in the summer of 1906. From 1904 to 1912, she primarily created still lifes, landscapes, and figures with well-structured forms.
In 1912, as her relationship with Camoin deteriorated, she met Georges Bouche, and she joined him in Auvergne during the summer. Her landscapes then evolved: she used blocks of green and lively brushstrokes to depict trees, creating compositions with shallow depth. Despite her modest financial situation, the critic Louis Vauxcelles referred to her in 1921 as "one of the most remarkable women artists of our time" (L'Éclair, June 23, 1921).