Geranium Bouquet
Watercolor signed lower right
Format (at sight): 77.5 x 54.5 cm
Format (frame): 88 x 65 cm
Please note: some missing parts of the frame
Biography
Zacharie Astruc, born in Angers (Maine-et-Loire) on 23 February 1833 and died in Paris on 24 May 1907, was a French art critic, poet, painter and sculptor.
Zacharie Astruc took an active interest and participation in the cultural life of the second half of the 19th century, advocating a revival towards more modern painting. As a critic and friend, he actively defended the painters Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Henri Fantin-Latour and Alphonse Legros. He was also a great specialist in Japanese art and had a lasting relationship with the painter Carolus-Duran.
As a sculptor, he made his debut at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1871; as a painter, he was part of the First Exhibition of Impressionist Painters at Nadar's in 1874, and participated in the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900. Manet represented him on several occasions, for example, in the Musique aux Tuileries and painted his portrait in 1864. He also appears in Henri Fantin-Latour's famous painting, Un atelier aux Batignolles, where he sits next to Manet.