Marius De Buzon Orientalist Painting: Bouquet Of Flowers, Mirror, Living Room, Algiers Interior, 1930

Marius de Buzon – Bouquet of Roses and Dahlias in the Artist’s Living Room in Algiers – Oil on canvas – 56 x 35 cm

A beautiful oil on canvas signed by Marius de Buzon, located in Algiers, depicting a bouquet of flowers in an interior setting.

The composition features a bouquet of roses and a dahlia arranged in a white pitcher with blue stripes, set on a dark table. The white, red, and pink roses blend with a pink dahlia rendered in broad, impasto brushstrokes. The bouquet occupies the center of the composition, rendered with a generous, dynamic, and highly pictorial quality.

In the background, the artist opens the scene to an intimate interior: a living room or studio, with a dark mirror in which bluish reflections and indistinct shapes appear. The presence of the mirror lends the painting a unique sense of depth. The bouquet is not set against a neutral background; it is situated within the artist’s living room, in a contemplative, domestic, and silent atmosphere.

The contrast between the freshness of the flowers and the dark depth of the mirror is what makes the composition so compelling. The reds of the roses, the chalky whites, the pearly pinks of the dahlia, and the deep greens of the foliage stand out against a brown-black background, enlivened by reflections of cool light.

This still life reveals an intimate side of Marius de Buzon, who is better known for his Algerian and North African subjects. Here, the artist does not seek the exoticism of an outdoor scene, but rather the poetry of a private interior, set in Algiers.

The brushwork is bold, thick, and almost sculptural in the flowers. The petals are built up through successive layers of impasto, with visible texture that gives the roses and the dahlia a very lifelike presence. The white pitcher, simple and domestic, adds a familiar touch; it contrasts with the dark mirror in the background, which introduces a more mysterious dimension.

The composition is very balanced: the large white rose dominates the upper part of the composition, the red bouquet forms a focal point of color on the left, the pale rose softens the center, and the pink dahlia enlivens the foreground. The mirror, with its reflections, acts as a second image within the image, evoking the artist’s living room and his everyday world.

The work can be dated to the first half of the 20th century, in an intimate, colorful, and highly structured style. It is of particular interest because it combines the signature of a painter associated with Algeria with a still-life subject that is relatively rare in his body of work.

Marius de Buzon
French painter active in Algeria, known for his compositions related to North Africa, his figure studies, landscapes, portraits, and interior scenes. This work, signed and located in Algiers, reveals a more personal aspect of his work, centered on the salon of

French School
First half of the 20th century
Work located in Algiers

Technique / medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

Canvas: 56 x 35 cm
With frame: 74 x 54 cm