Three views of the Parisian high society.

All three portraits were painted by the French artist Auguste Toulmouche (1829-1890), who specialized in painting the upper-class women of 19th-century Paris.

From left to right, the paintings are In the Library (1872), The Love Letter (1883), and Vanity (1870).

Toulmouche was a gifted painter and specialized in capturing fabrics. And on top of that, he liked to idealize his sitters, making him a popular artist for the rich Parisians. His work was not only popular among the French, but he also sold quite some works in the United States during his life.

Do you have any favorite among these three works?

 Three views of the Parisian high society. All three

A colorful view of public life in Paris at the end of the 19th century.

Flower Merchant, Rue du Havre, Paris (1893) was painted by Louis Marie De Schryver (1862-1942), a very talented artist who already exhibited his first work at the Paris Salon (the biggest art exhibition in the world) at age 13.

In this painting, we can see some of the activities on the bustling Rue du Havre. It was a popular place for shopping. The colorful flowers, fashionable dresses, and decorated hats provide a cheerful view of Paris. The street is filled with horse carriages, not only because of the shops that are present, but also because of the busy train station (the Gare Saint-Lazare) in the background.

He painted this scene in Paris, during a time that women were increasingly able to live a public life. The upper-class women started to stroll along the grand boulevards in Paris to show off their fashionable dresses and hats. And the flower vendors benefited from their presence as women were much more likely to buy some flowers than men.

 A colorful view of public life in Paris at the end of the

After 200 years of seclusion and isolation, Japanese goods could be exported again in the 1860s. And it became a real hype in Paris where artists loved the inspiration it provided.

The Japanese Parisian (1872) by Alfred Stevens was one of the many artworks inspired by this craze.

Many artists that are well-known today would be inspired by the Japanese style, compositions, patterns, and colors, including Gauguin, Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Stevens, Tissot, Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh and Whistler.

Alfred Stevens (1823-1906) was a Belgian painter who spent most of his life in Paris. His specialty was painting elegant and modern women, of whom there were plenty to find in Paris.

 After 200 years of seclusion and isolation, Japanese goods

Endymion is the most beautiful mortal according to mythology.

The Sleep of Endymion (1791) by Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson (1767-1824) shows how the goddess Diana disguises herself as a moonbeam to look at him every night.

 Endymion is the most beautiful mortal according to

The Bride of Belus (1885) by Henri-Paul Motte (1846-1922) shows a strange Babylonian ritual.

In the center we see a large statue of the Babylonian god Belus (or Bel). According to the ritual, there was a daily beauty contest and the winner was allowed to sit on the lap of Belus' statue overnight. She was left alone there with some guarding lions we see at the bottom of the statue. And the next day, the process was repeated and a new girl took the place of the old one.

It is not exactly clear to me what happened to the girl on Belus' lap, but the reason for that may be that the whole Babylonian ritual was made up by the artist. When he exhibited the work at the Paris Salon of 1885, he added a quote from Herodotus to it, justifying the content as I described above. But it later turned out that the artist had made up that quote and that Herodotus never wrote it.

So, in essence, it is a fanciful story that the artist made up himself. But that allows us to think about the rest of the story. Will the girl survive? Or was there an endless stock of young girls that could be offered to Belus. The way the woman on the right is guided out of the temple suggests to me that it is not going to end well in the artist’s mind...

 An intriguing scene with a twist... The Bride of Belus

Paintings become not much more dreamlike than those by Claude Lorrain. Seaport at Sunset (1639) shows an idyllic scene in the port, surrounded by classical architecture and a mesmerizing sunset.

This painting is on display in the Louvre, but comparable seascapes and landscapes can be found in other museums around the world.

 Paintings become not much more dreamlike than those by

True story: The Raft of the Medusa by Géricault shows the last 15 (out of 150) men that survived for 13 days on a raft after a shipwreck. And the only liquid they had available all these days was wine.

 True story: The Raft of the Medusa by Géricault shows the

Portrait of the Artist Holding a Thistle by the 22-year old Albrecht Dürer is the first independent self-portrait (painting) as far a I know. He painted it for his fiancée before his travels through Europe.

Nine years earlier, at the age of 13, he already drew a spectacular self-portrait using the silverpoint technique.

 Portrait of the Artist Holding a Thistle by the 22-year old

As with many of Da Vinci's paintings, there are many unanswered questions about La Belle Ferronnière. The main one: who is she? Is she the wife or a mistress of the Da Vinci's boss? Or someone else completely?

The title of the painting refers to the jewel she has around her head, a headband with a small jewel in it is called a ferronnière.

 As with many of Da Vinci's paintings, there are many

The time when yellow dresses were in fashion.

The Yellow Dress was painted by Gustave Jacquet (1846-1909), a French painter in the Academic Art style, who specialized in female portraits that were elegant and aesthetically pleasing.

Gustave Jacquet was a student of William-Adolphe Bouguereau (who must have been a great teacher as he had many well-known students). He was popular among the Parisian upper class, who frequently commissioned him, allowing Jacquet to make study trips across Europe to further develop his knowledge.

 The time when yellow dresses were in fashion. The Yellow

A Lady and Her Chambermaid shows a warm and colorful scene during the Belle Epoque.

It seems that she is receiving a letter, probably from a loved one..

It was painted by the German-Peruvian artist Albert Lynch (1850-1950).

 A Lady and Her Chambermaid shows a warm and colorful scene

Not to make us jealous, but the friends of Renoir in the Luncheon of the Boating Party seem to be having a great time!

And Renoir's Impressionistic brush strokes turn this into a dynamic and colorful event!

 Not to make us jealous, but the friends of Renoir in the

The Oriental world was a great source of inspiration for 19th-century French artists, providing them with new architecture, atmosphere, colors, fashion, and people.

Women of Algiers (1834) by Eugène Delacroix is one of the more famous Oriental works.

Whereas quite some Oriental works are somewhat controversial because they depict the Oriental world through Western (judgmental) eyes, this work by Delacroix is one of the more realistic ones.

During a stay of three days in the Port of Algiers, a merchant gave him the opportunity to peek inside his harem, where he observed a scene that inspired Delacroix for this painting.

You can see three well-dressed Algerian women and a black slave. Compared to some other Oriental works, this work does not eroticize Oriental women a lot, but experts agree that Delacroix did take a little bit of freedom to depict the woman in a way that better matched the French idea of the Orient.

And while the subject matter makes for an interesting discussion, the painting style was praised more widely, inspiring many famous artists, including Gauguin, Picasso, and Van Gogh.

 The Oriental world was a great source of inspiration for

The Umbrellas illustrates the big change in Renoir's painting style over time.

He started on the right in Impressionist style and completed the left side years later in a more Classical style with sharper lines and much stronger contrasts.

The painting shows a rainy day in Paris where some people are surprised by the sudden rain.

 The Umbrellas illustrates the big change in Renoir's

Courbet's The Artist's Studio in the Musee d'Orsay is one of those paintings that is so much better in reality than when seeing an image of it. Courbet expresses his artistic vision by promoting Realism and mocking the Romantic and Academic art movements.

The longer you look at it, the more great details you discover. And then he could not even finish the painting. He wanted to paint replicas of his own works in the background, but as he did not have enough time to do that to submit the work to the Paris Salon (where it obviously got rejected), he just filled up the background with some vague colors.

 Courbet's The Artist's Studio in the Musee d'Orsay is one

Vanity (1870) by Auguste Toulmouche (1829-1890) loved to capture the life of the Parisian upper class, which was busy with keeping up appearances.

And a beautiful dress and a little bit of self-love do not hurt then.

 Mirror, mirror on the wall... Vanity (1870) by Auguste

The Valpinçon Bather is one of the early works by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres launching a long and very successful career.

The Seated woman seems to float in the air and the colors and light are extremely harmonious making it into a very satisfying image.

 The Valpinçon Bather is one of the early works by

She has the feeling that something bad will happen.

Desdemona Retiring to Her Bed (1849) by Théodore Chassériau (1819-1856) shows a scene from Skakespeare's play Othello.

The tragedy revolved around a Moorish general Othello and his ensign Iago. Othello has just married Desdemona, a beautiful and wealthy Venetian girl who is much younger than him (and Desdemona's father does not approve of their marriage). But Iago is very jealous and convinces his general that his new wife has cheated on him (which is not true and which Othello would learn about after her death).

And this painting shows the moment after Desdemona is accused. Desdemona is about to go to bed, but she has an eerie feeling that she is about to die that night (which will indeed happen as Othello gets into a blind rage).

This play by Shakespeare has already been performed for almost four centuries and has likewise inspired artists. Chassériau was particularly inspired by this story and made quite some works about it, but the Dominican-born French artist also made paintings of other works by Shakespeare (and several other genres).

 She has the feeling that something bad will happen

The term Impressionism is based on a review of Impression, Sunrise (1872) by Claude Monet.

The same art critic wrote about this painting: "A preliminary drawing for a wallpaper pattern is more finished than this seascape." The term Impressionism was used before, but the critical review of this painting by Louis Leroy (a not so successful artist himself) really led to the adoption of this term by the Impressionist painters and its critics.

 The term Impressionism is based on a review of Impression

What do you think about this painting by Leonardo da Vinci?

Virgin Mary sits on the lap of her mother, Saint Anne, and plays with her son Jesus. The composition is unique and strange at the same.

 What do you think about this painting by Leonardo da Vinci?

Cardiff Docks (1894) is wonderful combination of industrialization, light, and smokestacks.

The capital of Wales is painted by the American artist Lionel Walden and on display in the capital of France...

OK, he did live in each of those countries, so it is probably not that surprising.

 Cardiff Docks (1894) is wonderful combination of

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) is one of the famous Impressionists and his specialty was to paint life and movement.

This painting is part of a series of 14 paintings of the Boulevard Montmartre at different hours of the day and in different weather conditions. All versions were painted from exactly the same viewpoint.

This version of a relatively gloomy day is in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.

 Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) is one of the famous

A confident and intellectual Parisian dandy! That is how Manet painted Emile Zola, the writer who fiercely defended his controversial works and has been instrumental for the development of Impressionism and Naturalism.

 A confident and intellectual Parisian dandy! That is how

At 28 years old, The Spanish Singer was the first painting that brought Édouard Manet some positive feedback from the public.

His ideas were usually too controversial and innovative for his contemporaries that he would have relatively little success with his works during his life.

 At 28 years old, The Spanish Singer was the first painting

Pissarro painted the Boulevard Montmartre in Paris at 14 different times and weather conditions.

Here it is night and wet outside, leading to wonderful light effects.

 Pissarro painted the Boulevard Montmartre in Paris at 14

The Goldsmith Ladies in the Bois de Boulogne in 1897 on a Peugeot Cart was painted by Julius LeBlanc Stewart (1855-1917).

It shows a popular activity among the riches at the end of the 19th century. French people with a lot of money liked to show off their wealth and fashion in the Bois de Boulogne.

And while the automobile only became available to the masses around 1914, these carts were not an uncommon sight in the forest.

You can see these two ladies enjoying their ride, flaunting their dresses, their car, and their purebred dog (which was also very fashionable). And by painting their surroundings with very soft colors, Stewart made sure that, also in this painting, they are the center of attention.

 If you've got it, flaunt it. The Goldsmith Ladies in the

Moret - Bridge in the Summer is a typical Impressionist painting by Alfred Sisley. Notice the gorgeous light effects in the water. Sisley painted many scenic paintings in this small town - where he spend the last decade of his life - two hours away from Paris.

 Moret - Bridge in the Summer is a typical Impressionist

The woman in the Grande Odalisque by Ingres offers her body. She is part of a Turkish harem and the sultan will not be able to resist her. While we may find her elongated features a bit odd, this was considered an object of beauty back in the days.

 The woman in the Grande Odalisque by Ingres offers her

Renoir's Yvonne et Christine Lerolle au Piano is colorful, detailed, peaceful. He got inspiration for this work by one of the best artists ever, Johannes Vermeer.

This work is on display in the  Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris.

 Renoir's Yvonne et Christine Lerolle au Piano is colorful

Dante and Virgil (1850) was painted by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905). It's a cruel scene in hell, but Bouguereau captures both men in the foreground with great skill. Just look at their (exaggerated) muscles.

This painting in the Musee d'Orsay shows a scene from the Divine Comedy by Dante (1265-1321) about Dante and his guide Virgil taking a journey through Hell. You can see them on the left and they are looking at a cruel scene in the foreground where two men are engaged in an eternal combat.

The combat takes place in the eighth circle of Hell (the circle for falsifiers and counterfeiters). One of the men is an alchemist and heretic named Capocchio, and he is bitten on the neck by Gianni Schicchi who had usurped the identity of a dead man in order to fraudulently claim his inheritance.

If you look at the other details in this painting, you can see the other cruel aspects of hell, with fire and people hurting. There is only one character that is enjoying all of this, and we can see him in the top center.

 There is no fun in Hell... Dante and Virgil (1850) was

La Pâtisserie Gloppe (1889) by Jean Beraud (1849-1935), whose works are a rich source for understanding the daily life of Parisians during the end of the 19th and early 20th century.

This pâtisserie is located at the famous Champs-Elysees in the heart of Paris. It shows how the affluent Parisians are enjoying some wonderful French snacks. And the dog is hoping for his share as well...

It seems more like a buffet of snacks, as if the customers can take all that they want. But there are also two employees present, on the right side of the painting, dressed in black with a white apron.

And the architecture of the place is relatively simple for Parisian standards, with a high ceiling, large mirrors, small chandeliers, and gold trim.

 How many French pastries would you eat? La Pâtisserie

The Fortune Teller by Caravaggio in the Louvre shows a gypsy girl reading the hand of a rich man. However, her real interest is the expensive ring she is stealing while distracting the man.

Another version of this painting is in the Capitoline Museums in Rome. Read more about both works on my blog.