Charles Joseph Frederic Soulacroix
1825 - 1879
Soulacroix was born in Montpellier on 6th July, 1825. He began his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1845 where he was a pupil of Ramney, Cornelius and Dumont. The artist made his debut at the Paris Salon in 1849.Soulacroix excelled in painting figurative subjects in the sumptuous interiors of the fashionable salons of Paris. The artist pays particular attention to detail in his paintings, depicting elegant furniture with fine silk and satin fabrics on the dresses and walls. He was very popular during his lifetime and continues to be regarded as the master of this genre today.
This painting is a very rare and powerful painting by Soulacroix in both subject matter and execution and as such it is a very important example of the artist's oeuvre.