(Paris 1850–1924)
The Quai Malaquais, Paris, signed JF RAFFAELLI, on the reverse an exhibition label of the Hamburg Kunstverein and further labels, with dedication, oil on canvas, 71 x 81 cm, framed

Provenance:
Jessie Strassburger (1880-1970), USA/Liechtenstein;
bequeathed to the father (1927–2019) of the current owner;
by inheritance to the current owner -
Private Collection, Liechtenstein.

Exhibited:
Kunstverein Hamburg, no. 85.

We are grateful to Brame & Lorenceau, Paris for issuing a certificate on the basis of a high-resolution photograph.
The painting will be included in the digital catalogue raisonné.

The French painter Jean-Francois Raffaelli (Paris 1850 - 1924) was one of the most unusual chroniclers of Paris. He began his creative career as an actor and musician and, after a brief academic education, taught himself painting and sculpture. He began with the realism that prevailed in history paintings, however he quickly made a decisive shift towards a naturalistic and more authentic style of rendering. In his early phase, post 1875, he was interested in people who lived on the periphery of society and by using emphatic, cartoon-like lines he tried to find a symbolic and deliberately anti-romantic language to depict their miserable lives. Raffaelli quickly became very successful with this psychological approach to his subjects, a style that was echoed in the naturalism of the literary circle of Emile Zola, and in 1880 and 1881 Edgar Degas even invited him to take part in the much-praised Impressionist exhibitions. After 1889 Raffaelli devoted himself increasingly to the street scenes and squares of Paris, again succeeding in capturing the very specific atmosphere of a Parisian square and imparting a vibrant dynamism and transience to the static of the image.

The scene at Quai Malaquais in Paris is a newly discovered and special example of Raffaelli’s documentation of Paris. We are looking at Voltaire’s statue, erected in 1885 and destroyed in 1941, and at the magnificent façade of the side wing of the Collège Mazarin. It is autumn, a light bluish, brown hue permeates the image and dynamic brushstrokes alongside nervous, quick strokes that sketch the figures and the bare trees depict the unique feel of bustling everyday life in Paris.
A small, black and white spotted dog in the right-hand corner of the picture attracts our attention. He is a sort of signature of the painter, who can be seen in almost all his Paris city paintings and is often accompanied by an old man - a city guide who shows us the unique beauty of Paris.