French School From The Beginning Of The 19th Century - Interior Of A Bakery

early 19th century French school Oil on canvas 45.5 x 60 cm (59.5 x 74 cm with frame) Beautiful 19th century carved and gilded wooden frame In the first half of the 19th century, the theme of bakery interior was appreciated by painters. Like the interiors of abbey or churches, it was a pretext for chiaroscuro games à la Granet thanks to the fires of the ovens and the many nooks and crannies of these small bread factories! Marius Granet himself exhibited the “Interior of a bakery” at the Paris Salon of 1824 (today at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Besançon). Johannes Jacobus Berkman exhibited "A bakery" at the Salon of 1830 and Alexandre-Victor Fontaine exhibited an "Interior of a bakery in Paris" at the Salon of 1850. Our painting is also a true document in the history of French bakery . It shows the different parts of the interior of a bakery, the different tools needed and the different stages of bread making at the end of the 18th century. We can also see, in a niche, a bust statue of Saint Honoré. The patron saint of bakers was born in the village of Port-le-Grand, in Picardy at the beginning of the 6th century. Legend has it that when this dispirited young man announced to his nurse that he wanted to become a priest, she was baking his bread. "And when my shovel has leaves, you will be a bishop!" The good woman laughed. Under his astonished eyes, the shovel began to green again. Saint Honoré was bishop of Amiens in 566. The rue Saint-Honoré and the faubourg Saint-Honoré have made him famous all over the world, as well as the pastry that bears his name. The origin of the name of the street comes from the chapel built between 1204 and 1209 thanks to a baker Renold Chéreins who donated nine arpents of land to build the chapel; this land was located near the Saint-Honoré gate and slightly set back from the path leading to Saint-Ouen, Argenteuil and Neuilly, that is to say the current rue Saint-Honoré. In the 15th century, the first brotherhood of bakers was founded in Paris, in the Saint-Honoré church.