Alexandre Robert, Portrait of a Little Girl Golden Frame, Belgian, 1879, Oil on Panel, Framed

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Description

"portrait of a little girl" oil on wood signed and dated top left "a. Robert 1879" for alexandre robert.
a … Read more "portrait of a little girl" oil on wood signed and dated top left "a. Robert 1879" for alexandre robert.
a talented belgian painter, after completing his studies in paris and spending time in rome, he became, from 1850 onwards, the portraitist in vogue among the belgian aristocracy and bourgeoisie, after the government commissioned him to paint the portrait of the baron stassart. His exceptional painterly and introspective ability left its mark on the portraiture of the time: his portraits are intensely realist, capturing the observer with eyes that seem to come to life, faces that come to life. This exceptional portrait of a little girl from the wealthy middle class is a good example: her peach skin glows in the dim light while her eyes and mouth open into a smile, in stark contrast to the cute black fur hat she wears . The painting is framed in a magnificent gilded wooden frame from the same period.

measures
panel 48 x 39.5 cm
frame 68 x 59.5 cm

biography
nestor alexandre louis robert (known as alexandre robert) (1817-1890)
trazegnies – brussels, belgian school

son of a notary, alexandre robert was destined to pursue a military career. However, he continued in his vocation: being a painter. We know that since childhood his aptitude for drawing was noticed; he sketched portraits of his classmates in notebooks. It was françois-joseph navez (1787-1869), director of the brussels academy and painter of the same origins as alexandre robert, who became his teacher.
the painter's oldest known work dates back to 1838; it is the portrait of his father. Then, in 1841, he created two large religious paintings, which can be admired today in the churches of trazegnies and courcelles: "the martyrdom of saint barbara" which appeared at the ghent exhibition of 1841 and "moses on the mountain" exhibited at the brussels salon of 1842 at the same time as a "resurrection of jairus' daughter".
following these successes, alexandre robert committed himself to completing his studies in paris. He left at the beginning of 1842, armed with the recommendation of his teacher which would guarantee him admission to paul delaroche's studio. But he regretted being rejected, because the studio was already full.
thus he found himself sharing a room with jean-françois portaels (1818-1895), admitted a few months earlier to the studio of paul delaroche (1797-1856), telling himself that he would benefit from the transfer of lessons through his fellow student. For his part, alexandre robert also dedicated himself to the study of the masters of the louvre, admiring raphael and poussin, and the spanish paintings that formed the aguado de las marismas gallery. This was until jean-françois portaels decided to participate in the prix de rome and was declared the winner of this artistic tournament.

after this short stay in paris, he left the city to follow jean-françois portaels to rome. They visited germany, northern and southern france, switzerland and italy.

once settled in rome, the correspondence with navez and the marquis de trazegnies, shows us alexandre robert's uncertainty in pursuing history painting. However, he sent "the return of slavery" to the brussels salon of 1845. It was also in rome that he executed one of his masterpieces: "lucas signorelli paints his dead son", now preserved in the royal museum of fine arts in brussels and which earned him a gold medal at the brussels salon in 1848. He also painted "a regret" in 1849 which was a great success at the ghent salon.

unfortunately, his stay was interrupted in 1849 due to garibaldi's revolution. In 1850, the government commissioned him to paint the portrait of baron de stassart for the gallery of the presidents of the legislative chambers and he became the fashionable portraitist in the official world, among the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie. His portrait of m. Adolphe van soust de borckenfeldt was judged the best at the paris universal exhibition of 1855. A letter from arthur stevens to robert is said to speak of the praise paid to his portrait by eugène delacroix.
the "charles quintus before his death" exhibited at the 1854 salon, initially for the belgian government, was purchased by the argentine government after its exhibition in buenos aires.
in 1860 he married alice madou, the eldest daughter of the illustrious painter jean-baptiste madou.
aspiring to teach, from 1864 he directed the drawing course based on ancient figures at the brussels academy, then, from 1881, the painting course shared with joseph stallaert and joseph van severdonck.
from 1870, following navez's death the previous year, he was entrusted with the direction of the academy's fine arts class. For the record, thanks to his position at the academy, he was the instigator of the law of march 26, 1886 on copyright, which had not existed until then.
he was made a knight of the order of leopold in 1856 and an officer of the order of leopold in 1866, at the same time as joseph stevens (1816-1892) and charles verlat (1824-1890).
his portrait was painted by félicien rops for the galerie d'uylenspiegel in 1856. He is depicted in costume in front of a multitude of portraits. (copy at the british museum, inv. No. 1896,0511.468.76. This piece has an attribution mark,
i am sure that it is completely authentic and take full responsibility for any authenticity
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