Shop art print and framed art Apollonie Sabatier, la Présidente by Vincent Vidal

Historical context of the creation of La Présidente

This portrait of Apollonie Sabatier by Vincent Vidal is a work rooted in the history of 19th-century France. At the time, Apollonie Sabatier was a recognised figure in Parisian cultural life, regularly frequented by leading artists and writers such as Charles Baudelaire, Gustave Flaubert and Victor Hugo. A great insipirant muse, she held a famous literary salon and became the symbol of the modern, artistic woman of her time.

Vincent Vidal,French painter and watercolourist, meanwhile, was a promising painter. He was a pupil of Paul Delaroche, a leading figure in great historical and troubadour painting, and exhibited at the Salon from 1843. A skilful pastellist, he excelled at producing portraits of strangers and celebrities of his time.

Description of the work

This portrait of Apollonie Sabatier depicts the young woman full-length, in a position that is as nonchalant as it is triumphant. She is wearing a long dress garlanded with garlands of roses.These wrap around her waist and crown her head with braided brown hair.

The expression on her face is particularly remarkable: Apollonie Sabatier's gaze is captivating, imbued with serenity and intelligence. A certain melancholy can also be detected.

Although the neutral background of the work does not allow us to give further context to this portrait, one detail catches the eye: the presence, in the lower right-hand corner of the painting, of wilted flowers that have fallen from the garland that adorned Apollonie Sabatier's pink dress. This detail, present in many vanitas, could suggest, in the manner of a memento mori, the ephemeral nature of the charms of this patron and protector of the arts.

This artwork is a drawing from the classical period. It belongs to the french school style.

« Apollonie Sabatier, la Présidente » is kept at Château de Compiègne, Compiègne, France.