François-Auguste Biard

FRANÇOIS-AUGUSTE BIARD LYON, (Lyon, 1799 - Fontainebleau, 1882).
"Young woman with narguille - Portrait of Princess Quintilia Cavalcanti.
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
With certificate of authenticity by Baptiste Henriot. To be included in the next Catalogue Raisonné of the author.
Provenance: Anonymous sale; Paris, Coutau-Begarie & Associés, February 25, 2022, no. 220. Acquired during this sale by the present owner.
Measurements: 40.50 x 32.50 cm, 53 x 44.50 cm (frame).

This work by François-Auguste Biard was probably made in reaction to the publication of the novel 'Quintilia Cavalcanti' written by the novelist George Sand (1804-1876). Published in 1834, it narrates the tumultuous life of the romantic heroine Quintilia drawn from the author's imagination. Sand's text describes her as follows: "She appeared to be thirty years old, but perhaps she was only twenty-five; She was a somewhat tired woman, but her pallor, her thin cheeks and the hollowed bluish semicircle under her large black eyes, gave an expression of pensive will, of surprising intelligence and of melancholy firmness to the whole head, whose linear beauty could be compared to the most perfect cameos of antiquity, She was tall, slender; her shoulders were broad; Her white, unclouded neck had attitudes at once arrogant and majestic." The author adds a little more: "with her yellow damask tunic, embroidered all over with red wool, her skirt and pants of muslin, her twisted silk belt, tied around the loins and falling to the knees; with her embroidered slippers, her open sleeves . In the 1830s, the Orient occupied a place of honor among painters and men and women of letters. The exoticism that it transmits is the object of fantasies and curiosities and gives rise to a rich and varied pictorial production.

This painting is part of the work of François-Auguste Biard, a talented painter, although little known outside specialized circles. However, a recent exhibition in Paris has made it possible to rediscover this artist and caricaturist, a contemporary of Victor Hugo, who started in the artistic world with works of satirical tone. Biard stood out for his keen observation skills and for capturing with remarkable realism the scenes he experienced at the North Pole and in Brazil, in paintings of great size and detailed precision.

He studied at the École des beaux-arts in Lyon under the tutelage of Pierre Révoil. He made several trips to the Orient, Lapland and Brazil, which had a profound influence on his work, characterized by its exoticism and which brought him great popularity. In addition to his realistic style, Biard was known for his sense of humor.