Louis Marie de Schryver

Paris, Salon de 1886, no. 2162, illustrated p. 7

Anonymous, Le Monde illustré, Paris, n.d., illustrated

Louis Marie de Schryver, born to a prominent Parisian family with strong ties to its literary and artistic circles, understood intimately the spirit of his time and the concerns of its fashionable characters. De Schryver frequently used his friends and family as models and according to Mme Elizabeth Hert-d Schryver, the elegantly dressed young woman carrying an umbrella and sporting a fur stole at the far left is Angèle , the artist's first wife. Her young companion is probably her friend, identified only as Madame Julia O.

De Schryver was captivated by the proliferation of flower vendors in Belle Époque Paris and chose them as the central subject of his work. Their daily presence on the boulevards of Paris symbolized the unquenchable desire of Parisians for beauty, color, and scent. The blossoms offered by the vendors often mirrored the beauty and costumes of the ladies of fashion whose salons and boudoirs they would grace. According to Mme Elizabeth Hert-de Schryver, the present painting is one of de Schryver's earliest works developing this favored theme of flower vendors.

The painting was exhibited in the 1886 Salon and illustrated in its accompanying catalogue (no. 2162). It was described in Le Monde illustré as one of the prettiest paintings of the Salon.

We are grateful to Mme Elisabeth Hert-de Schryver for her assistance in the cataloguing of this work.