Elegant Bourgeois Portrait From The XIXᵉ Century By Germain Paget

Elegant 19thᵉ century bourgeois portrait by Germain Paget

Very handsome family portrait by Germain Paget (1817-1884), a painter originally from Morbier in the Jura.

This oil on canvas, depicts Mme Désiré Morel, née Paget, surrounded by her children Armand and Reine. A painting featuring Désiré Morel also appears in the background, bringing a particularly touching, intimate, family dimension to the composition.

The work illustrates the family's relationship with Désiré Morel.

The work illustrates with sensitivity and elegance the art of bourgeois portraiture in the XIXᵉ century. Germain Paget pays remarkable attention to expressions, attitudes and sartorial details, in a refined, warm atmosphere.

Paget was born in Morbigny, France.

Born in Morbier in 1817, Germain Paget received his initial artistic training in Dole with Jean Séraphin Désiré Besson before moving to Paris in 1839 to enter the École des Beaux-Arts. There, he frequented the studios of several renowned Franc-Comtois artists, including Adolphe Brune, Jean Gigoux and then Thomas Couture.

From 1841, he was a regular participant in the Paris Salon, a major event in French artistic life in the XIXᵉ century. In particular, his work Saint François Xavier baptising and healing the sick Indians, commissioned for the Notre-Dame church in Morez, attracts the attention of the Ministry, which subsequently commissions several copies by great masters.

Since the Second Empire, he has been a regular participant at the Salon de Paris, a major event in French artistic life of the XIXᵉ century.

Under the Second Empire, Eugénie de Montijo's influence revived the aesthetics of the XVIIIᵉ century and inspired Paget to create many fresh scenes, close to the world of Watteau or Fragonard.

His works are today preserved in several collections and museums, notably in Dole and Morez.

Dimensions unframed:
74 cm x 59 cm

Dimensions with frame:
93 cm x 77 cm

An elegant and deeply human work, representative of French painting of the XIXᵉ century.