Iwan Cerf (1883 - 1963) Belgian - “naked Indo-chinese Woman Sitting. », Dated 1929

Gouache, signed and dated on the lower right corner
Dimensions: 43 x 56 cm; with frame 65,5 x 79,5 cm

Iwan Cerf represented a young woman from her left profile. He delicately painted the curve of his body. The painter gave attention to details. Like a sculptor, he modulated the light to give volume and life to his drawing. On the one hand, we could think of the legacy of Gauguin, who painted with freedom the young women of the Marquise Islands in the 1890s. On the other hand, we know that Iwan Cerf had a great visual culture. It is not impossible that he was inspired by the canon of the genre: "Young naked man sitting at the seaside" (1835-1836) by Hippolyte Flandrin, exhibited at the Louvre museum.

Iwan Cerf born in Belgium. He began his learning ash the Academy of Fine Arts of Lièvre. Since the art of the turn of the century is created and lives in the artistic capital of Europe; He moved to Paris in 1901. Then, he studied at the Beaux-Arts in Paris in the workshop of Hippolyte Lefèbvre (sculptor and painter, 1863 – 1935) and Tony Robert-Fleury (painter of history, 1837 – 1912).

Once in Paris, the Iwan Cerf took advantage of the dynamism of the city to undertake his career and mark his time. He exhibited at the Salon from 1924 to 1940, the Salon d'Automne from 1922 to 1942 and the Salon des Tuileries from 1927 to 1929. He painted portraits, genre scenes, landscapes and still-lifes.

From its landscapes, one retains the views of Provence and its mountains. Otherwise, he was inspired by the fantasies of the Middle East ("Arab Woman", 1921) and of China. Rather than an idealistic vision, he depicted his subjects with simplicity and accuracy.

Museums:
. Musée des beaux-arts de Liège

Bibliography:
. Art. Vincent Pomarède, "Young naked man sitting at the edge of the sea", Paris, louvre.fr.
. Art. Ivan Cerf, Benezit Dictionary of Art, Oxford Art Online.