Lucien JONAS (1880-1947). "Scène galante". Oil on canvas sig - Lot 266

Lucien JONAS (1880-1947). "Scène galante". Oil on canvas signed lower right and dated 1928, depicting a kneeling gentleman with his hand over his heart, courting an elegant woman in a blue dress lying on the ground, while Cupid (Eros) looks on, holding his bow and arrow. Cut out and mounted on stretcher. Cut out and mounted on stretcher (size: 54.5 x 78.5 cm). This painting echoes a series of five oils on canvas (including a triptych) dispersed at our November 24, 2018 sale. They were commissioned by architect Pérot in 1928 to decorate the salons of the Hôtel de la Croix d'Or in Soissons, a famous establishment dating back to the 16th century, rebuilt in 1928 and demolished in 2017. The paintings were acquired by the town of Soissons, which already owned a monumental oil on canvas from the same program. They were subsequently included in the "Versailles Revival 1867-1937" exhibition held at the Château de Versailles from November 19, 2019 to March 15, 2020. From the teaching of his masters at the École des Beaux-Arts, Léon Bonnat and Henri Harpignies, adepts of rigorous figuration, Lucien Jonas retained a taste for drawing and a sense of composition treated with a sure, alert hand in a range of luminous colors. Jonas exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français from 1904 and became a member in 1907, winning the second Prix de Rome in 1905. This post-impressionist artist distinguished himself as a painter of history, portraits, landscapes and genre scenes, as well as an engraver and illustrator.