Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scevola (1871-1950) Nu féminin, pastel signé

Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scevola (1871-1950)
A young naked woman standing
Pastel on paper
Signed lower right and dedicated, "à JM Fournol (?)"
63 x 40 cm
In fairly good condition: traces of wetness in the upper part, the paper is wavy, folds and any small tears in the lower part (please refer to the detail photographs)
Framed under glass, with a green velvet mat : 88 x 63.5 cm

Even if it is not in perfect condition, this is a very beautiful pastel, which shows another facet of Guirand de Scévola's art and personality. We are not far from his symbolist period and he still shows his mastery of pastels to create an atmosphere of dreamy intimacy. The play of light and shadow on the young woman's body is particularly suggestive. The fact that he offered it and dedicated it to one of his friends (unfortunately not identified) also proves that it was a work he intended for a restricted circle. There is definitely a question of intimacy here and it remains quite intelligible to us.

Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scévola ( 1871 – 1950) was a French painter. He was student of Fernand Cormon and Pierre Dupuis at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. De Scévola art is remarkable for his silky, velvety and smooth style. The very first part of his career was marked by symbolism, but he later developped his own language, his Art Deco like bunches of flowers are the best known. He was also a great portraitist for the socialites and aristocrats of the period. He is also known as the head of the Camoufleurs (the French camouflage department) during the First World War, which was responsible for the invention of this widely used military technique.