Street Scene In Tunis By Cécile Augustine Bougourd (french, 1857 - 1941)

Street scene in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia was executed by the famous French painter Cécile Augustine Bougourd (Pont-Audemer 1857 - Toulon 1941). Orientalist painter. In 1892, the family left Pont-Audemer for Nantes, where we have few traces of Cécile Bougourd's artistic activity. On the other hand, the stays in Tunisia from 1901, notably in Smindja, near Zaghouan, of one of Auguste's sons, René-Auguste Bougourd, followed by a move to Bizerte in 1905 then to Tunis in 1906, were exceptionally fruitful. Until 1909, Auguste and Cécile participated in the Tunisian Salon where their works were noticed11. Cécile became a member of the Society of French Orientalist Painters in 1904 and exhibited regularly at this Salon until 1914. Reading the titles of the paintings is eloquent: all reference to floral themes has disappeared, the landscape reigns supreme, and it is almost exclusively urban landscapes, scenes of souks and markets, solidly structured by architecture, stretched with strong luminous contrasts. The characters, stereotyped, interest the painter little: it is characteristic that we find, from one painting to another, the same young boy in a chechia and dark waistcoat. These paintings have, clearly, met with quite great success among amateurs. Some were kept by the artist in order to serve as models for partial copies, in smaller formats. This is the case of the Rue des Teinturiers presented in 1907 at the Tunisian Salon, in 1908 at the Salon des Orientalistes and in 1926 at the Colonial Salon and at the Halfaouine Mosque. Only the characters responsible for animating the decor change. Members of the Carthage Institute in 190612, Auguste and Cécile Bougourd then played a decisive role in the revival of the Tunisian Salon threatened with disappearance, in particular by probably being at the origin of the invitation addressed to Alexis de Broca for a solo exhibition presented the same year13. A mutual esteem linked the three artists, as evidenced by a portrait of Auguste Bougourd by De Broca, with a dedication to Cécile. In 2012-2013, an exhibition entitled Auguste et Cécile Bougourd. From Norman Landscape to Orientalism was organized at the Alfred-Canel Museum, which highlighted their contribution to Orientalist painting in Tunisia.
For comparison with our painting see the last 2 additional images of other works by the artist.
The works are in TOULON, Mus. d'Art et d'Archéol.
Exhibitions: 1914-38 Paris, Salon.
Literature: Vol. 1, 1953. Edouard-Joseph I, 1930; Bénézit II, 1976; Alauzen, 1986. – E.Hardouin-Fugier/E.Grafe, Les peintres de fleurs en France, P. 1992.
Inscription: signed lower right.
Technique: oil on canvas, original period wooden frame.
Dimensions: unframed 27 x 38 cm; framed 54 x 64 cm.
Condition: very good.