A wonderful antique portrait by French painter Lucien Simon. Watercolour on paper, the enigmatic face of the sitter is beautifully appealing.
Signed to the top right. In a later frame. Ex Gallery in Hamilton Ontario. Measures 16" x 14." $365.00.
*Born in Paris, Lucien Simon, was the son of a doctor and considered both medicine and literature before pursuing art at the Académie Julian. He studied under William Adolphe Bouguereau and Tony Robert-Fleury. His specialty was provincial views, particularly in Brittany and he exhibited for the first time at the Paris Salon in 1883. By 1900, Simon’s reputation was firmly established and he won a gold medal in that year at the Exposition Universelle. He also exhibited in Munich, Barcelona, Pittsburgh, and at the Biennale in Venice in 1912, alongside Jacques-Emile Blanche. In 1916, Simon became Director of the Musée Jacquemart-André. From 1931 until 1934 he exhibited at the Royal Academy in London; and in 1937 was awarded the Grand Prix at the Exposition Internationale. Further accolades for Lucien Simon included being elected an officer of the Légion d’Honneur in 1911 and a member of the Institut de France in 1927.
