Jean Laudy (1877-1956): Femme a sa Toilette
Oil on Canvas
Size: 150 x 110 cm
Artwork Dated: Circa 1900
Laudy was born in Venlo, Holland, however from 1893 onwards he lived and worked in Belgium, where there was a much more active art scene and importantly, more collectors. Laudy studied at the Academié in Antwerp and then later in Brussels under Verheyden and then at the Atelier Patte de Dindon, where he met Firmin Baes.
Laudy's talents and style straddle the 19th and 20th centuries and as his painting amply demonstrates, he had a wonderful mixture of flair and passion, and an almost Latin sense of sensuality and vigorous expression. He was a wonderful portraitist and in much demand throughout his painting life. His wife Hélene Demoulin was an exceptional watercolourist, art was the family business and they were both accomplished at it.
This painting of a woman at her toilette involves us in asking the question, who is she? She could be a grand dame of the period with her maidservant or she could be someones' mistress; perhaps a painting commissioned by her lover and showing only her back to keep her identity a secret? It is surely painted with a sensuous touch and a great sense of passion.
He was made a member of the Belgian Royal Academy in 1954 just two years before his death.
His work is to be found in the museums of: Brussels, Ixelles, Mons, Saint Josse-ten-Noode and Saint-Nicholas
Stock No: FO005
