JEANNE SELMERSHEIM-DESGRANGE | Le Petit Déjeuner devant une Fenêtre
Oil on Canvas
65 x 92 cms / 25½ x 36¼ inches
Signed J. Selmerseim-Desgranges (lower right)
Jeanne Selmersheim-Desgrange’s Le Petit Déjeuner devant une Fenêtre is a luminous Neo-Impressionist masterpiece, where dappled brushstrokes and vibrant colour capture the quiet elegance of a sunlit interior. Painted in the South of France, this refined still life reflects her mastery of light, texture, and composition. Long overshadowed by her association with Paul Signac, Selmersheim-Desgrange’s distinctive artistic voice is now receiving its due recognition. Discover her exquisite paintings at Gladwell & Patterson.
Jeanne Selmersheim-Desgrange is renowned for her relationship with Paul Signac. The pair met in Paris in the 1890s and Jeanne became his pupil and later his mistress. Through this relationship Selmersheim-Desgrange embraced the Neo-Impressionist pointillist style which Signac had developed alongside Paul Seurat.
Selmersheim-Desgrange’s direct talent as an artist may be seen in the distinctive compositions of her brilliant still lifes and landscapes. Her watercolours and oil paintings are executed with a delicate palette of pastel tones.
Selmersheim-Desgrange spent a great deal of time in the South of France, particularly around St. Tropez and Antibes, where Signac and Jeanne settled in 1913. The relaxed atmosphere, the intense light, the brilliant earthen colours, and azure seas all helped to form Selmersheim-Desgrange’s aesthetic. Life in the South of France was focused around the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, and Jeanne’s most spectacular works are those composed of view from a balcony looking onto the glistening Mediterranean beyond.