Lot 105: JEAN DELVIN

BELGIAN, 1853-1922
CHILD, FIELDS AND FLOWERS: FIVE DECORATIVE PANELS

CHILD, FIELDS AND FLOWERS: FIVE DECORATIVE PANELS

measurements
two outermost panels: 82 1/2 by 18 in. each; following two panels: 82 1/2 by 27 1/2 in. each; center panel: 82 1/2 by 61 3/4 in.

alternate measurements
209.5 by 45.7 cm; 209.5 by 69.8 cm; 209.5 by 45.7 cm

signed J Delvin (lower left of the center panel)

each: oil on canvas

NOTE

Jean Delvin was the founder of Les XX (Les Vingt), a group of twenty, liberal minded artists active in Belgium in the late nineteenth century. They organized annual international exhibitions in Brussels from 1884 to 1893, with perhaps their most well-known exhibitor being Georges Seurat, who included La Grand Jatte in the February 1887 show. In the present painting, Delvin has chosen to show his subject in an unusual polyptych format. One may only guess that this configuration was inspired by fifteenth century Flemish altarpieces by artists such as Jan van Eyck and Roger van der Weyden (van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece readily comes to mind). Additionally, Delvin's better known Belgian contemporary, the Symbolist, Baron Léon Frédéric also favored this unusual format. While little is known of the early history of our painting, its subject, detailed setting and scale suggest that it was a specific portrait commission intended to be installed in the home of an affluent collector.