
Thomas Seaman
Specialist, Head of Sale
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Sold for £19,200 inc. premium
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Specialist, Head of Sale
Provenance
Private collection, UK.
Hugues Merle received his artistic education in the studio of Leon Cogniet and first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1847. He exhibited there until the final year of his life, was twice awarded the second class medal in 1861 and 1863, and he was made a Chevalier de legion d'honneur in 1866. Merle was a contemporary of the most famous Academic artist of the time, William Adolphe Bouguereau, to whom his work often draws comparisons. In fact it was written that during his career Merle 'became a considerable rival to Bouguereau in subject and treatment'1. Their dedication to the academic technique and the quality of painting that resulted ensured both artists enjoyed great acclaim both at home and abroad. Merle and Bouguereau knew one another well, were rivals and often competed for commissions and recognition. For a time they were both represented by the same gallery, Durand-Ruel, in Paris. Perhaps nowhere were they held in higher regard than by American collectors in the last quarter of the 19th Century and Merle's work graced some of the most prominent American collections of the time including those of Robert Sterling Clark and Cornelis Vanderbilt.
1C. H. Stranahan, A History of French Painting from its Earliest to its Latest Practice, New York, 1917, p. 398.