- 276
Jean Joseph Benjamin-Constant
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Jean Joseph Benjamin-Constant
- Femme vue de dos - Study of a ceiling figure in the Opéra, Paris
- signed Benj. Constant (lower left); on the reverse two dactylographs read Étude d'après Mademoiselle RACHEL BOYER de la Comédie Française pour l'une des figures du plafond de l'Opéra-Comique / par / Benjamin Constant et Appartient à Mlle Rachel Boyer / 27 Boulevard d'Inkerman / Neuilly sur Seine
- oil on canvas
- 13 3/4 by 18 in.
- 35 by 46 cm
Provenance
Madame Gaube-Bertin
Exhibited
Paris, École du Louvre, Rachel Boyer, comédienne et philantrope, 1994, no. 4
Catalogue Note
The Opéra-Comique was opened on December 7, 1898 as a replacement for a theater destroyed by fire. Soon after its debut performances, viewing the Opéra-Comique's elaborate interior decoration became nearly as popular as seeing works on stage. Benjamin-Constant was chosen to paint the ceiling of the Opéra, the theme being La Glorification de le musique. The decorative program was intended to detail the great roles for💦 actresses, Carmen, Mireille and Phryné among others. The present work is a preliminary study and the model is the ac🉐tress Rachel Boyer (1864-1935), celebrated as much for her exuberant spirit as for her fine thespianism.