Felix Auguste Clément

FÉLIX AUGUSTE CLÉMENT (France, 1826 - 1888).
"Young girl asleep".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Original frame of the time with slight flaws.
Measurements: 46 x 56 cm; 77 x 87 cm (frame).

This magnificent painting by Félix Clément is an outstanding example of his mastery of sensual portraiture and virtuoso handling of glazes and light. The composition stands out for its intimacy and delicacy, capturing a moment of repose and vulnerability in the figure of a sleeping young woman. The close framing of the languid young woman, with her head cocked to one side and resting on her raised forearm, creates a curved line that reinforces the sense of relaxation. The treatment of the face, with the puffiness of the cheeks and ears, lends warmth and vitality to the figure, suggesting an immediate, almost palpable closeness. This detail echoes the sensualist tradition of the 19th century. The naked breasts, whose turgidity escapes the transparent gauze covering the torso, reflect the artist's ability to play with glazes. This play of transparency, combined with the silky and slightly wavy texture of the blue-green sheet, creates an interesting contrast between the softness of the skin and the folds of the textile environment. The coppery highlights in the brown hair add a touch of luminosity that harmonizes with the warm palette of the background and the cool tones of the sheet, evoking a voluptuous atmosphere. The handling of textures and composition could recall the work of Manet, particularly in his ability to balance the sensual with the realistic. However, Félix Clément brings a more lyrical approach to the details, moving away from the direct impact of Manet's realism to create a more introspective and contemplative experience.

Félix Auguste Clément was a French painter, known primarily for his Orientalist scenes. Clément was born in Donzère. His early studies were at the École nationale des beaux-arts in Lyon with Jean-Claude Bonnefond. In 1848 he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he studied with Michel Martin Drolling and François-Édouard Picot. In 1856 he won the Prix de Rome for his painting of the return of the young Tobias. He remained in Rome for several years, followed by a visit to Egypt in 1862, where he painted scenes of princely activities, made decorative works for palaces and sketched monuments; some of them quite remote. Many works were commissioned by the Khedive. In 1868 he returned to France. Four years later, the government commissioned him to copy Andrea Mantegna's paintings in Padua, but he was forced to return due to illness. He taught at the École Nationale de Lyon from 1874 to 1877. He participated in the Second Annual International Exhibition in London (1872), the Vienna Expo of 1873 and the Exposition Universelle (1878). It is said that Henri Rousseau obtained Clément's help in obtaining permission to copy paintings at the Louvre; a privilege normally reserved for students of recognized institutions.