Lot 66: Jules Salles-Wagner (French, 1814-1898) La Valaisane

La Valaisane
signed 'JULES SALLES' (lower right)
oil on canvas
135.5 x 94cm (53 3/8 x 37in).

EXHIBITED:
Paris, Salon, 1887, no.2123.

LITERATURE:
Nîmes, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Jules Salles 1814-1900, February 26 - April 10, 1983, no.49, ill. p.39.

Jules Salles-Wagner was born in the south of France in 1814. He enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Nimes where he won a prix de peinture in 1839.
A pupil of Paul Delaroche (1797-1856) in Paris, he regularly exhibtied at the Salon des Artistes Francais. from 1859.

The charming subject of this painting is reminiscent of William Bouguereau (1825-1905) in the way the artist finds beauty in a everyday subject.

It is a fine example of Salles-Wagner's ability to render feminine beauty and emotional expression in the French academic tradition. La Valaisane stands out as a particularly well-painted work which displays maternal love and compassion with the mother tenderly observing her baby who lies on her knees.