Lucien Victor Guirand De Scevola (1871-1950) Portrait Of A Young Boy, Signed Pastel

Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scevola (1871-1950)
Portrait of a boy
Signed lower left
Pastel on paper
28 x 23 cm
Framed : 63 x 58 cm

Guirand de Scévola is particularly renowned for his pastel work, a technique he mastered perfectly and which best suited his distinctive style.
In addition to his famous bouquets and genre scenes, he was particularly sought-after as a portrait painter. He portrayed many socialites. But here we discover him in an intimate, sensitive register, particularly suited to his subject. In many ways, this portrait of a child is reminiscent of the art of Eugène Carrrière, who excelled in depicting childhood. It's hard to say whether the artist had any influence on Guirand de Scévola when he painted this portrait, but it's interesting to see how the particular subject of childhood inspired both of them.
In any case, another aspect of Guirand de Scévola's talent is revealed here. Since his Symbolist beginnings, he has always reinvented himself, exploring new aesthetic avenues and new subjects of inspiration.

Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scévola ( 1871 – 1950) was a French painter.
He was student of Fernand Cormon and Pierre Dupuis at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris.
De Scévola art is remarkable for his silky, velvety and smooth style.
The very first part of his career was marked by symbolism, but he later developped his own language, his Art Deco like bunches of flowers are the best known. He was also a great portraitist for the socialites and aristocrats of the period.
He was involved in several important art movements during his lifetime, and his style evolved to reflect the changing trends in French art during the first half of the 20th century. His work is often described as a fusion of Symbolism, Post-Impressionism, and elements of modernism, though he remained deeply rooted in traditional French artistic practices.
He is also known for his pioneering leadership of the Camoufleurs (the French Camouflage Department) in World War I.