Jules Flour (1864–1921) Portrait Of A Young Girl, 1889

Oil on canvas — large period frame in wood and gilded stucco

We are pleased to present this very elegant portrait of a young girl painted in 1889 by Jules Flour, a late 19th-century French painter born in Avignon in 1864 and who died in 1921.

Precisely dated, this work belongs to a particularly interesting period in the artist’s career. Trained in Avignon, notably under Pierre Grivolas, Jules Flour moved to Paris, where he continued his apprenticeship under Jean-Léon Gérôme, one of the leading figures of French academic painting.

This solid training is fully evident in this painting: the rigorous construction of the face, the finesse of the drawing, the precision of the modeling, and the attention paid to the model’s expression.

The young girl is depicted in a bust portrait, facing the viewer, against a very understated bluish-gray background. This economy of means allows the painter to focus all his attention on the face and the gaze. And what a gaze! Direct, serious, and surprisingly present, it gives this young model an almost palpable personality.

Here, Flour excels at the very particular art of the child portrait: preserving the model’s freshness and fragility while avoiding any sentimentality.

The skin tone is rendered with delicacy, the eyes are remarkably lively, and the abundant brown hair beautifully frames the face. The light-colored dress, adorned with small colorful motifs, as well as the wide red velvet ribbon worn around her neck, lend the composition an elegant touch of color.

The painting also possesses that very distinctive quality of late 19th-century portraits: an apparent simplicity that conceals true technical mastery.

The painting is set in a substantial frame of wood and gilded stucco, richly decorated with plant motifs, friezes, and pearls, which plays a key role in the work’s presentation. Its generous proportions—66 × 58 cm overall, including the frame—give it a remarkable presence on the wall.

The signature “Jules Flour – 1889”, clearly visible in the upper right corner, places this work within the painter’s career with rare chronological precision.

Jules Flour exhibited regularly at the Salon des Artistes Français, where he presented numerous portraits, among other works. His work is now preserved and cataloged in several French public collections.

Beyond its historical and artistic significance, this portrait captivates above all through the quiet presence of its subject.

There is something profoundly timeless about this young woman: her gaze seems to span the decades without losing any of its freshness. The painter seeks neither anecdote nor spectacular effect; he simply presents us with a face, a personality, and a moment frozen in time.

This is precisely what makes this type of late 19th-century bourgeois portrait so compelling: an elegant, skillful, and deeply human painting.

A very beautiful work by Jules Flour, particularly interesting for its early date of 1889, the quality of its execution, its condition, and its remarkable period frame.

Jules Flour (1864–1921)
Portrait of a Young Girl
1889
Oil on canvas
Signed and dated in the upper right corner
Overall dimensions: 66 × 58 cm
Significant period frame in wood and gilded stucco

A work of character, both intimate and elegant, that will naturally find its place in a collection of 19th-century French paintings as well as in a contemporary interior.