Jules Goupil

The Muriel S. and Noah L. Butkin Collection

Born in Paris, Jules Goupil studied with Dutch-French painter Ary Scheffer and debuted at the Salon of 1857, at just 18 years old. He won consecutive medals in the Salons of 1873 through 1875, and again in 1878. Here, an elegantly dressed woman sits in a dark interior sporting a parasol. The dark brown contours of her hands and face recall traditional painting methods championed by the likes of Thomas Couture and early figure paintings by his one-time student, Edouard Manet. Goupil's attention to detail, from the lace of her dress, to her gold earrings and rings--perhaps signaling her marital status--substantiate the artist's keen sense of fashion and eye for la vie moderne.