paul cesar helleu
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franch paintingTRANSCRIPT
Created: Rodica StătescuSource: http://www.liveinternet.ruAutomatic transitionMusic: Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley
Paul César Helleu was born in Vannes, France in 1859. As a young boy he immediately took a passionate interest in art. His father died when Paul César was still young and his mother was not keen on her son following the unstable profession of an artist. Helleu was however, a determined
young man and by the age of seventeen he had moved to Paris to study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Helleu rejected the classical academic approach to painting that he was taught at art school
and instead embraced Impressionism. Helleu formed close friendships with Degas, Rodin, Renoir and particularly Monet who became a close friend and companion.
Helleu’s closest friend was John Singer Sargent and it was he who inspired Helleu to become a portraitist. In 1884, Helleu was invited by Monsieur and Madame Guérin to execute a portrait of their fourteen year old daughter Alice - Helleu immediately fell madly in love with her. In 1886 they were married, Alice being only sixteen years old. During the early 1890s, Helleu and his young wife were popular figures in the aristocratic circles frequented by the élite of European
society. Helleu forged friendships with many of the greatest authors of the time. Marcel Proust held Helleu in high regard and used him as a model for the artist Elistir in his epic work, A la
recherche du temps perdu. Helleu adored the company of beautiful women and was introduced to many elegant, fashionable women who became principle sitters for his portraits.
Helleu’s wife Alice was undoubtedly his favourite model, she was charming, refined and graceful and his portraits of her are drawn with intimate sensitivity. In his portrait of her, Alice Helleu is depicted with her back to the viewer, sitting at a secretaire in her husband’s study, wearing an elegant white dress, which is in harmony with the colours of the room. Despite the fashion for sombre interiors, Paul and Alice Helleu decorated their homes entirely in shades of white. The walls were white and furniture upholstered in white Louis XIV damask. This innovative design
scheme won instant approval from Oscar Wilde and James McNeil Whistler and formed the background for Helleu’s paintings and etchings.