'La Taverne Pausset, Paris' by Edouard-Jean Dambourgez, Circa 1880, Salon D'Automne, Salon Des Independants, Benezit

Description

Signed lower right, 'Dambourgez' for Edouard-Jean Dambourgez (French, 1844-1931), titled, 'Paris' and painted circa 1880. Titled with inscription, verso, on … more Signed lower right, 'Dambourgez' for Edouard-Jean Dambourgez (French, 1844-1931), titled, 'Paris' and painted circa 1880. Titled with inscription, verso, on old backing, ''Taverne Pausset', grands boulevards a Paris".

An unusually fine, and extraordinarily detailed, cabinet-size oil painting showing an elegant Parisian cafe and bar, lit by luminous, floor-to-ceiling stained-glass windows, and filled with fashionably-dressed patrons drinking and socializing beneath a haze of pipe and cigar smoke. This minor masterpiece provides an animated view of the city's fin-de-siècle nightlife and is characterised by finely observed and fully-realized figures showing an unusual degree of both social commentary and psychological penetration.

Edouard-Jean Dambourgez first studied with Jules Lefebvre and, subsequently, as an engraver and chromo-lithographer under Gustave Boulanger. In 1880, Dambourgez commenced exhibiting at the Salon des Artistes Français, and, in 1883, was elected a member of the Society. Throughout the 1880's, he exhibited frequently and with success at the major Paris salons including the Salon d'Automne, the Salon des Independants and the Salon des Champs-de-Mars. In 1884, he was commissioned by the Louvre to engrave all illustrations for the catalog to the Thiers Collection, recently bequeathed to the Museum. The recipient of numerous prizes, medals and juried awards, Dambourgez was awarded an honorable distinction by the Salon in 1888, and an honorable mention in 1891.

In 1888, the critic Albert Wolff recommended his painting, 'A Cheese Shop', for inclusion at the Salon des Artistes Français. In 1891, the city of Paris bought his large canvas, 'The Cream and Cheese Market at Les Halles' and, in 1921, his city view titled 'Canal in Dordrecht'.

According to the Revue des Beaux-Arts, the artist's style evolved from realistic to naturalist, and, by 1894, to "frankly Impressionist." Dambourgez left Paris in 1896 and subsequently lived and painted in Spain, Italy and Morocco while continuing to exhibit with success in Paris.

Reference:
E. Benezit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs, Jacques Busse, 1999 Nouvelle Édition, Gründ 1911, Vol. 4, p. 210; Thieme-Becker Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zu Gengenwart, Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag 1992, Vol. 7/8, p. 316; et al. less