Charles Pecrus, Portrait Of A Young Woman With An Umbrella, Circa 1870

Portrait of young woman with parasol
Oil on wood panel signed top left.
Dimensions with frame 27x24 cm
Panel 16x22 cm

Portrait of young woman shown seated, dressed in an elegant black dress adorned with trimmings and topped with a small city hat characteristic of the fashions of the second half of the 19th century. The model fixes the viewer with a gaze that is both gentle and assertive. The sobriety of the composition, the finesse of the drawing and the lovely modelling of the face testify to Charles Pécrus' talent as a portraitist.

In this small-format work, the artist reveals his taste for careful observation of physiognomies and his ability to render his model's presence with sensitivity. The warm-toned background highlights the young woman's luminous face, while the black shades of the dress show the refinement of the painter's palette.

Born in Limoges in 1826, Charles François Pécrus is a singular figure in nineteenth-century French painting. Nothing initially destined him for an artistic career, as he was destined for an administrative position with the Ponts et Chaussées. His drawing skills, however, were noticed very early on, and led him to join the École des Beaux-Arts and embark on a career as a painter. From 1857 onwards, he exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon, where his genre scenes, portraits and interiors met with great success.
An encounter with Eugène Boudin on the Normandy coast marked a decisive turning point in his career. Under the influence of the Trouville master, Pécrus discovered plein-air painting and enriched his work with a freer, brighter vision. Although he did not officially join the Impressionists, he frequented the artists who gravitated around Boudin and Jongkind, and participated in the evolution of French painting towards modernity. He immortalized the beaches of Trouville, elegant strollers, seaside hotels and scenes of everyday life in Normandy.

The works of Charles Pécrus are today preserved in several public institutions, including the Musée d'Orsay, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Reims, where two portraits of young women of the same dimensions are on display, and the Musée Villa Montebello in Trouville-sur-Mer. Long in the shadows despite a brilliant career, the artist is now enjoying renewed interest. This rediscovery has been consecrated by the exhibition currently dedicated to him by the Musée Villa Montebello in Trouville-sur-Mer, highlighting his role among the painters who celebrated the Côte Fleurie and revealing the full richness of an unjustly overlooked And partly forgotten body of work.