"Tous les Bonheurs" by Alfred Stevens |
'Tous les Bonheurs' was so well received by the critics, that the Jury wanted to award Stevens a medal of honour, but were hesitant. Robert-Fleury went to see Stevens unofficially and told him that his subject matter was not worthy of his talents, and that if he would change his genre they would award him with the medal. The reply was brief and to the point: 'You keep your medal and I'll keep my genre.'
However, 1863 saw the end of officialdom's hesitation. Stevens became Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. What must have pleased the artist above all were the words of the minister at the presentation - 'To gain an honour with the complete approval of your colleagues is to deserve it twice over.' The success of Stevens here and also at the Brussels Salon of 1866, where his 'La Visite' was purchased by King Leopold, was also a matter of pride for his home country of Belgium.
There was no greater recommendation that that of royal patronage. The aristocracy and the haute bourgeoisie followed their monarch's example and added his work to their collections. Stevens received a letter from his brother Arthur, who was the king's curator, telling him of the monarch's strong admiration for him and his 'wish' that Alfred was to remain Belgian. [He had now lived and worked for quite a while in France, and his attachments there were strong.]"
To be continued
(Excerpts from "Alfred Stevens" by Peter Mitchell.)
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