Skippings Fine Arts has dated this piece to the 1920s.
It is so understated: elegant yet humble, with such depth and grace. It is also quite simply, and quietly joyous.
It was painted by Bruno Francisque Guillermin (1878-1947). Guillermin forged his career in Lyons - France's great industrial city at the beginning of the 20th Century - where he worked as a designer in the thriving art deco and textile workships, as well as an artist.
Hence, Guillermin decorated the ceiling of the emblematic art deco Brasserie Georges in Lyons, as well as the dome and one of the chapels of the Notre-Dame de Fourvière Basilica. He received the prize of the Fine Arts Society of Lyons - destined to reward the artwork exhibited an the Salon which was deemed to have the most merit - and was a member of the National Fine Arts Society in Paris.
Guillermin is renowned for the distinctive cool light in his floral composition, which creates a fascinating juxtaposition to the warmth of the subject matter. It gives his painting a timeless quality and a feeling of modernity.
The painting here presented is an oil on panel measuring 46 x 38 cm. It dates probably from the 1920s and bears on the verso a label from the Pouillé-Lecoultre Gallery in Lyon. Framed in a more recent traditional gold coloured frame, the overall size is 56 x 48 cm.
The frame warms the tones of the painting slightly - I could also imagine a sleek hardwood frame, which would bring out the modernist qualities of the painting - but this would be a choice for the new owner to make.
Skippings Fine Arts has dated this piece to the 1920s.
Modern french & continental pictures selected by a former french auction house expert
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Humble Yellow Ranunculus: Elegant 1920s Modernist French Lyons Floral Still Life Oil on Panel
