GEORGE L. SEYMOUR

(British, fl.1876-1888)

LOUISA

Oil on Panel

17 x 10 ¾ Inches
Signed Upper Right ‘G.L. Seymour'

Provenance: Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia

This notable British artist studied in Paris with William Bouguereau and Jean-Leon Gerome, perhaps the two most accomplished figural painters of the late nineteenth-century. This exceptional example of the artist’s work shows Seymour to be a worthy inheritor of his two masters. The young woman, shown in profile from behind, glances spontaneously up to the viewer’s right with candor and charm. From Bouguereau, Seymour derives his extraordinary gravitas of the human form together with the exquisite textural values seen in the subject’s skin and satin dress. From Gerome, he has acquired his facility for dramatic composition and jewel-like brilliance. Seymour exhibited with success in Paris and at London’s Royal Academy. This fine example of the artist’s work was recently de-accessioned by a prominent American museum.      

Ref: Benezit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs, Vol . XII, p. 722; Dictionary of British Art: Victorian Painters, Wood, p. 469; Davenport’s Art Reference Guide, 2007/8 Edition, p. 2135; et al.