Oscar-pierre Mathieu, Detail From (1845–1881) *allegory Of Painting And Sculpture*

Oscar-Pierre MATHIEU, attributed to
(1845, Saint-Jean-de-Fos – 1881, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés)
Allegory of Sculpture and Painting
Oil on canvas
H. 150 cm; W. 114 cm
Circa 1880

This large painting is likely a design for a tapestry or a wood panel decoration for a stately mansion, possibly in the Plaine Monceau neighborhood. It is typical of the decorative painting style practiced by artists such as Pierre-Victor Galland, François Ehrmann, and Alexis-Joseph Mazerolle.
Two female figures, inspired by Mannerism, frame the central composition, which is set within a panel simulated by a laurel wreath forming a two-lobed frame, itself surmounted by a medallion depicting a profile of the goddess Athena, protector of the Arts. Sculpture and Painting are personified here by two young women, each accompanied by the tools of her art: a hammer and a compass for Sculpture, and a palette and a canvas on which a cherub is drawing for Painting. In fact, in the competition between the two arts, Painting seems to prevail, as suggested by her standing, commanding pose.
In the corners are inscribed the names of famous artists from Greek antiquity. On the left are the sculptors Praxiteles (active in the 4th century B.C.) and Phidias (spelled, probably by mistake, as PhYdias), active in the 5th century B.C. On the right are the painter Apelles, active in the 4th century B.C., and another unidentifiable artist: Xeut…?

A student of Tissier, Cabanel, and Cogniet, Oscar-Pierre Mathieu, from Hérault, was an academic painter specializing in portraits and subjects from ancient and biblical history, which he exhibited at the Salon between 1864 and 1881; several of these works were acquired by the government to be displayed in public buildings. His ceiling decoration in the wedding hall of the Clichy town hall can, in terms of its style, be compared to our painting.