1852 -1929 · Paris, naturalism and modern life

Salon scandals, Parisian social events and great stories of modern science give Henri Gervex a unique place between academicism and naturalism.

Henri Gervex was born in Paris in 1852. He learned from the painter Alexandre Cabanel, the orientalist Eugène Fromentin and Pierre-Nicolas Brisset, thus bringing together academic discipline, color and a sense of storytelling. From his beginnings at the Salon in 1873, his technical ease was noted. Gervex frequented Manet, Degas and the modern world without renouncing large dimensions or the finish expected by institutions. This intermediate position is his strength: he treats contemporary life with the means of history painting. Rolla, painted in 1878 after Alfred de Musset's poem, caused his most famous scandal. Rolla, painted in 1878 after Alfred de Musset's poem, caused his most famous scandal. Rolla, painted in 1878 after the poem by Alfred de Musset, caused his most famous scandal. Rolla, painted in 1878 after the poem by Alfred de Musset, caused his most famous scandal. Rolla, painted in 1878 after the poem by Alfred de Musset, caused his most famous scandal. Rolla, painted in 1878 after the poem by Alfred de Musset, caused his most famous scandal. Rolla, painted in only the nudity and the bed which shock, but the clothes thrown in the foreground, explicit clues to a real and modern scene. Exhibited at a merchant, the canvas immediately attracted the crowd. Gervex then developed a brilliant career as a portraitist and official decorator. He paints cafes, theaters, elegant and social gatherings, observing clothing, gestures and social hierarchies. Cinq Heures chez Paquin transformed the fashion house into a theater of silhouettes, fabrics and looks. With Before the operation, presented in 1887, he transformed the fashion house into a theater of silhouettes, fabrics and looks. With Before the operation, presented in 1887, he transformed the fashion house into a theater of silhouettes, fabrics and looks. With Before the operation, presented in 1887, he transformed the fashion house into a theater of silhouettes, fabrics and looks. With Before the operation, presented in 1887, he transformed the fashion house into a theater of silhouettes, fabrics and looks. With Before the operation, presented in 1887, he transformed the fashion house into a theater of silhouettes, fabrics and looks. With Before the operation, presented in 1887, he transformed the fashion house into a theater of silhouettes, fabrics and looks. instruments and collective concentration become attributes of modern scientific heroism. Decorated and charged with large commissions, Gervex retained an official reputation until his death in 1929. His work, however, remains crossed by the ambiguities of Paris: desire and respectability, spectacle and work, medical progress and vulnerability of the body. The "Henri Gervex" selection, however, notably compares Rolla and Scène de café in Paris. His reading favors the material.

Gervex uses academic mastery to give the bedroom, cafe, fashion house or hospital the spectacular dimension once reserved for history.