Drawing Pierre-victor Galland - The Nymphs In The Undergrowth

Pierre-Victor GALLAND (Geneva 1822 - 1892 Paris) Nymphs in the Undergrowthcirca 1870graphite, pen and black ink16 x 11 cm; 33 x 28 cmmonogrammed with the stamp 'PVG' lower rightOften nicknamed the "Tiepolo of the 19th century", Pierre-Victor Galland began his training in the office of the architect Henri Labrouste, then he followed the teaching of Michel Martin Drolling and Pierre-Luc-Charles Cicéri. Very quickly, Galland abandoned academic painting and the presentation of his works at the Salon, in favor of monumental decoration. In 1851, he completed a design for a palace in Constantinople: this event marked the beginning of his main activity: the decoration of private mansions. During the Second Empire, he received important commissions. The Jacquemart-André Museum, the Hôtel de Madame de Cassin and the Hôtel Cail are just a few of the many examples we could cite. His fame subsequently spread to the United States and then to Russia, where princes and great financiers sought him out. During the Third Republic, the artist painted The Preaching of Saint Denis at the Pantheon (1874), the medallions in the amphitheater of the Sorbonne (1886), and then, between 1888 and 1892, he was commissioned to decorate the Galerie des Métiers at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris. These were the three largest public commissions given to artists of his generation. The work presented to you, more intimate, plunges us into a dreamlike world where nymphs seem to be enjoying the coolness of the undergrowth. The liveliness of the line here underlines Galland's mastery in the use of Indian ink.