Victor Gilbert 1847-1933

Victor Gilbert 1847-1933

Victor Gilbert was born in Paris in 1847 and lived in France for eighty-six years, passing away in 1933. Though his ability as an artist was recognized at an early age, he was forced to work as an artisan due to financial circumstances. He eventually gained some formal art training later in life from Pierre Levasseur at the Ecole de La Ville de Paris. He also studied under Victor Adam and Charles Busson.

Despite his lack of training, he established himself as a French genre painter, and was quickly recognized by the Parisian public. Especially noted for his market scenes, Gilbert often chose to paint images of vegetables, flowers, poultry, and fish with particular attention to fine details. He also painted many portraits of elegant young women and girls, scenes of Paris, and the landscapes—concentrating on the cliffs and harbors—of Normandy.

Gilbert first exhibited at the Salon in 1873 and 1874, and it was during this time that he formed a close friendship with Pierre Martin. Martin was a primary supporter of the impressionists, and collected works by Monet, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Gauguin, and Victor Gilbert. In fact, it was Martin’s patronage that allowed Gilbert to abandon his career as a decorator and to devote himself fully to painting.

Gilbert exhibited faithfully at the Salon des Artistes Francais and was given the award d’argent in 1889. In 1897 he was made a knight of the Legion d’honneur and won the Prix Leon Bonnat in 1926. Gilbert’s work also adorns the Hotel de Ville in Paris as part of the original decoration. The Chateau Museum in Dieppe, France, houses Gilberts work today.

Gilbert’s Sleeping Beauty features the profile of a young woman, slumbering on a divan. Known for the elegance of his portraiture, Gilbert offsets his subject’s luminous complexion with deep shades of crimson. Her delicate features are enveloped by a shroud-like cloak, rendering her a veritable femme-fatale. Gilbert’s proclivity for attentive detail work and painterly stylization are exceptional in the present piece.