(Venice 1841–1917 Paris)
Femme arrangeant des oeillets (A Young Woman with a Bouquet of Flowers), signed Zandomeneghi, pastel on card on masonite, 40 x 32 cm, framed

Provenance:
Durand-Ruel (photo no. 5816) Paris;
Angelo Sommaruga, Paris;
Galleria Ca’Pesaro, Milan;
Acquired by the current owner’s grandfather around 55 years ago;
Private Collection Italy.

Catalogued and illustrated in:
Enrico Piceni, Zandomeneghi, Bramante ed., Milan 1967, no. 419.

Born in Venice, Federico Zandomeneghi was associated with the Macchiaioli in Florence from 1862 to 1874, after which he moved to Paris. He fell in love with the city and the artistic climate of the 1870s, and would remain in the French capital for the rest of his life.

The female figure started to dominate Zandomeneghi’s oeuvre when the famous French art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel bought the exclusive rights to his works, allowing him to paint freely without financial constraints. The dealer encouraged him to paint female figures so that he could respond to the taste of the newly wealthy bourgeoisie. Pastel became his favourite medium. He portrayed girls who were observed during a private moment and, as in the present lot, created a sense of intimacy. “Femme arrangeant des oeillets” is one the finest of a series of similar subjects. Like Boldini, he painted woman positioned indoors, reading or chattering. He admired the art of Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Mary Cassatt, whose domestic scenes of women had a deep influence on him. In this pastel, he captures a tender moment, with the girl seemingly unaware of the viewer’s presence. He shared his love of pastels with his friend Edgar Degas, with whom we can find close affinities.