Richard Ranft

RICHARD RANFT (Switzerland, 1862-1931).
"English Gentleman in Folies Bergères".
Colored drypoint.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 20 x 32 cm; 42 x 52 cm (frame).

In this composition Richard Ranft represents the typical English gentleman with carric, checkered cap and red beard surrounded by young girls in the Folies Bergères, classic cabaret of Paris.

Richard Ranft began studying painting and drawing in Geneva, under the direction of Eugène Etienne Sordet (1836-1915). He then moved to Paris, where he attended the workshops of Gustave Courbet and Augustin-Alexandre Dumont, a sculptor who taught him the technique of engraving. In Paris he was elected a full member of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts , in whose salons he exhibited regularly, as well as in the Société des Artistes Indépendants. One of his tasks as a painter was to reproduce in engraving paintings by various artists, including Turner, Whistler and Reynolds. After his death, Gustave Kahn paid tribute to him at the Mercure de France, when a retrospective of the painter was organized at the Salon d'Automne.