Alfred Stevens: Circles of Success

"Palm Sunday" by Alfred Stevens

"We can readily imagine Alfred Stevens attending the Emperor's receptions at the Tuileries or Compiegne, and holding his own among the celebrities in the Salon of Princesse Mathilde. This lively daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte's youngest brother, Jerome, married Prince Demidov, a patron of the arts. Stevens was given the freedom of Mathilde's wardrobe to borrow clothes for his models.

Her Salon was perhaps the brightest star in the firmament of the world's capital of the arts, letter, savoir-vivre, a magnet to so many from all across the civilized world. Stevens could meet there with the Dumas, father and son, Gautier, Flaubert, Arsene Houssaye, the director of the Comedie Francaise, Taine, the famous philosopher, Gounod, still renowned for his opera 'Faust,' and many more - the list is too long! None of these famous names could have imagined, nor, of course, anyone else, that one day twenty years into the future they would be portrayed by the painter they met in an extraordinary undertaking called 'Le Panorame du Siecle.'

At this time Stevens was a vigorous man in his late forties eager to get on with life and painting which were, for him, synonymous. By this time, he had acquired a large house and garden at 65 Rue des Martyrs, in the 9th arrondissement, which impressed every visitor. The garden was the setting for Manet's 'Croquet Party,' while the drawing room became the setting for some of his best-known paintings. 'Ready for the Fancy Dress Ball,' set in the house's Chinese boudoir, was commissioned by William Vanderbilt senior in 1879. 

The following year Vanderbilt's son visited Stevens. Having looked at several works only to be told they were sold or belonged to a dealer, he asked Stevens about the 'Salon du Peintre' and the reply was, 'That belongs to me.' 'How much?' '50,000 francs.' 'Then it is no longer yours, Mr. Stevens, it is mine!'" The artist's audacity in asking such a huge price was typical of the self-confidence of Stevens. However, another painting 'Les Visiteuses' had already been sold for 50,000 francs to King Leopold. 1878 had been a triumph for Stevens with fifteen exhibits, a first class medal, and a promotion to Commander of the Legion of Honour."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Alfred Stevens" by Paul Mitchell.)