Antoine Calbet – The Guitar Player + Rest In The Forest – Watercolors – Signed

We present here two watercolors by Antoine Calbet, which exquisitely illustrate the characteristic qualities of his work. This is a double-sided piece: on one side, The Guitar Player, a finished work, signed and dedicated. On the other, Rest in the Forest, a sketch for a work that may never have been completed.

The Guitar Player
The composition depicts a young woman seated in profile, holding a guitar. Here, the artist displays the full subtlety of his watercolor technique: the fluid drawing, transparent washes, and light palette convey an atmosphere imbued with grace and restraint.
The figure, captured in a natural pose, embodies Calbet's taste for scenes of feminine intimacy, where elegance and spontaneity intertwine. The pink and gray hues, enhanced with soft browns, lend the whole a muted harmony. Through the lightness of his execution, Calbet manages to evoke sensuality without artifice, in a subtle balance between realism and suggestion.
This work testifies to the artist's characteristic style: precise drawing inherited from the academic tradition, combined with a decorative and luminous sensibility typical of late 19th-century illustrators.

The work is signed and dedicated in the lower left corner. It is in very good condition, despite the paper being slightly yellowed. It is presented in a dark wood frame, also in very good condition.

Rest in the Forest
In this free and spontaneous study, Antoine Calbet explores the theme of the female nude, a recurring subject in his work.
The composition shows a seated figure with her back turned, placed in a natural setting sketched with broad strokes of green and blue. The drawing, reduced to a few fluid lines, gives way to a construction through color and light.
Here, the artist prioritizes the overall impression over the precision of detail: the light washes and subtle chromatic transitions convey the softness of the volumes and the transparency of the atmosphere. This fluid and allusive approach testifies to Calbet's technical mastery as a watercolorist, capable of evoking the sensuality of the body through the sheer accuracy of tone and texture.
This sheet, undoubtedly a preparatory study, highlights the element of experimentation and freedom that nourishes Calbet's art, poised between the study of reality and a poetic vision.

As the photos show, you can choose which work you wish to display: Each of the two watercolors has its own mat; The back panel is easily removable; simply turn the artwork over to change the display!

The artist
Antoine Calbet, born in Engayrac, Lot-et-Garonne, in 1860, was a French painter, illustrator, and watercolorist renowned for his refined and sensual art, often dedicated to the female figure.
A student of Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant and Alexandre Cabanel at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he worked within the academic tradition while imbuing his work with a lightness and grace characteristic of the Belle Époque.

Calbet debuted at the Salon of 1880, where he quickly achieved success thanks to his skill in painting elegant and charming female nudes. He contributed to numerous illustrated magazines such as L'Illustration and La Vie Parisienne, helping to popularize his style with a wide audience. His watercolors and gouaches, often tinged with subtle eroticism, appeal to collectors and lovers of fashionable art alike.
His style is distinguished by its fluid and precise drawing, a clear and luminous palette, and a penchant for intimate scenes. Calbet excels in the depiction of flesh, which he renders with an almost aquatic transparency and freshness. His compositions often evoke a world of gentleness, femininity, and reverie, in the tradition of artists like Boucher or Fragonard, but with a modern refinement.

During his lifetime, Calbet enjoyed considerable renown: decorated with the Legion of Honour, he exhibited regularly at the Salon and received official commissions for the decoration of public buildings, such as the famous Le Train Bleu restaurant at the Gare de Lyon in Paris.

Works by Calbet can be found in the museums of Agen, Béziers, Pamiers, Reims, Toulouse, as well as at the Dallas Museum of Art in the United States.

This work is on display at the gallery (07240).
Shipping: please contact us for shipping costs within France and internationally.