Léonie Bonvalet-barillot – Vase Of Roses – Oil On Canvas – Signed, Circa 1890

Léonie Bonvalet-Barillot (1853–1901)
“ "Vase of Roses," circa 1890
Oil on canvas, key-framed
Signed lower left "L. Bonvalet-Barillot"
46 x 32 cm — 58.5 x 44 cm with frame
Very good condition
Modern carved and gilded wooden frame, very good condition

A bouquet of white and pale pink roses, arranged in a glass pitcher, against a deep blue background. Nothing more. That is the essence of Léonie Bonvalet-Barillot’s art: minimal means, a generous use of paint, and light that illuminates the flowers one by one.

The vertical format, narrower than usual, focuses the composition around the bouquet and gives it a strong presence. The three large roses at the top are painted in thick impasto, with broad brushstrokes that catch the light on their relief. The brushstrokes remain visible throughout: in the creamy white of the petals, in the dark greens of the foliage, and in the blue of the background, worked in irregular layers that make the surface shimmer. The roses on the right, still half-closed, reveal warmer shades of yellow and reddish-brown.

The brown glass pitcher is one of the most beautiful elements in the painting: shimmering with green, ochre, and red highlights, it holds the light within its thickness and allows the stems to show through. On the mantelpiece, she has placed two red buttons and a leafy twig lying to the right: this is the composition’s only vivid accent.

An old exhibition label remains on the front of the canvas, in the upper left corner: it bears the number 53. This painting was therefore indeed featured in an exhibition during the artist’s lifetime or shortly thereafter. A second label, handwritten and now too faded to be identified, remains on the stretcher.

Condition and Frame
Very good condition. The canvas is mounted on its key-frame stretcher; the paint layer is well-preserved and the impasto is intact. On the reverse, the canvas manufacturer’s stamp is still visible.
The frame, which is modern and in very good condition, is made of carved and gilded wood: a broad foliage motif stands out against a gray background, bordered on the outside by a twisted molding and, on the viewing side, by a thin, light-colored trim.

The Artist
Léonie Barillot was born in 1853 in Montigny-lès-Metz. Her older brother, Léon Barillot (1844–1929), would become a renowned animal painter. She began drawing in Metz; then, after the annexation of Alsace-Moselle, the family moved to Paris, where she continued her training.

A student of her brother’s, then of Jules Lefebvre and Benjamin-Constant, she exhibited at the Paris Salon as early as 1878 and returned there almost every year for more than twenty years, presenting one or two flower paintings each time: chrysanthemums, azaleas, hollyhocks, Parma violets, carnations, and anemones. She also exhibited in the provinces, notably at the International Exhibition in Toulouse in 1887 and at the Salons in Mulhouse. In 1880, she married Jules Bonvalet and began signing her work with her married name. She was a member of the Society of French Artists.

Her work garnered attention during her lifetime: the critic Gustave Haller wrote of her that the name Barillot could only be associated with beautiful things. In 1899, Alphonse de Rothschild acquired her *Giroflées roses et blanches* to donate it to the Chartreuse de Douai Museum—the painting disappeared during World War II, so none of her works are now in public collections.

She died in Paris in 1901, at the age of 48. Her obituary lamented that she had been unable to reach her full potential, as painting occupied only the rare moments of freedom afforded to her by the task of raising her children. Her body of work is therefore not extensive, which makes her paintings rare on the market.