Pink Roses by Emile Vernon (French, 1872-1919)

This exquisite genre painting showcases a darling slice of life for a young woman in the Belle Epoque era. Dressed in a frilly frock made of detailed lace, and wearing a v shaped pink sash, along with a sapphire and diamond ring, a string of pearls and an extravagant spacer chain with wedgewood spacers that hangs so low, it rests on the 19th century table before her, this young woman represents the quintessential belle epoque beauty. She delicately arranges a bouquet of masterfully rendered roses within an art nouveau vase that rests on a marble topped table with skillfully depicted woodwork and gilt bronze mounts. signed, dated 'Paris 1909 " in the lower left.

Artist: Emile Vernon (French, 1872-1919)
Title: "Portrait of a Lady Arranging Pink Roses"

Date: 1909
Medium: Oil on Canvas

Dimensions: 

Framed: 48.5" x 38" x 5" D 

Canvas: 35" x 24" W 
signed, dated and localized "Paris" lower left.

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Émile Vernon was a French oil and watercolor painter best known for his portraits and genre scenes depicting beautiful women and children. Focusing on the Belle Epoque era, his scenes are informed by the popular style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that surrounded him. The artist first studied design at the School of Fine Arts in Tours where he won the first prize for design in 1888 when he was just sixteen. Two years later, he moved to Paris to study under the well known Auguste Trupheme and William Bouguereau at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts. 

A decade later, Vernon participated in two exhibitions, The Exposition of Fine Arts and Decorative Arts in Paris and subsequently, at the Salon des Artistes Francais. The artist garnered great respect from these showcases and proceeded to exhibit regularly at the Paris Salon from 1898 to 1913. He went on to exhibit consistently in Paris and later in London, receiving numerous commissions for decorative murals as well as oil paintings for the theater of Chatellerault.