French School (c. 1900) - The Catafalque Of Vanities

Oil on wood panel. This painting was likely part of a wall decoration in a home, shop, or leisure space. In this gem of early 20th-century French painting, the eye is captivated by a planter made of turned reeds which, with the delicacy of ephemeral architecture, supports an assortment of baskets and bouquets, creating a fragrant floral catafalque. Like a poem in marble by Gautier, the work is dedicated to the worship of pure form, where the exuberance of the corollas—pale roses, tuberoses, and silken petals—surrenders to the implacable beauty of its own decay. Each brushstroke seems to sculpt fragrance and color into a statuary stillness, celebrating that instant of absolute perfection before the fall, elevating the fleeting nature of beauty to the status of eternal art. An altar where botanical splendor and rigorous composition merge to remind us that only that which is destined to fade possesses the grace of the sublime. - Image dimensions without frame: 48 x 98 cm / 76 x 126 cm with an exclusive custom-made silver frame.