Henri Anatole De Beaulieu (Paris, 1819 -1884), Woman with pink ibis

Henri Anatole De Beaulieu (Paris, 1819 -1884) Woman with pink ibis Oil on panel, 35 x 22 cm With frame, 45 x 32 cm Signed lower left: “AH Beaulieu” The panel in question, depicting a young girl in profile caught in the act of approaching a rare pink ibis, a bird native to South America, is the work of the French artist Henri Anatole De Beaulieu (Paris, 1819 -1884), as evidenced by the signature affixed to the lower left. Born in 1819 and died in 1884, this Parisian painter falls within a crucial transitional period in the history of 19th-century art, becoming a bridge between dying Romanticism and the nascent Impressionist avant-gardes. Considered one of the best students of Eugène Delacroix (1798 – 1863), he made his debut at the Paris Salon in 1844 with a scene inspired by the Inquisition, immediately achieving great success among his contemporaries. His artistic production reveals an eye attentive to the beauty of the landscape and a particular and at times melancholic sensitivity to the luminous atmospheres, capturing moments of bucolic quiet, scenes of rural life immersed in a soft and enveloping light, but also views of the Italian and oriental landscapes. One perceives in his works an echo of Romanticism in his love for unspoiled nature and in the search for a subtle emotion, but at the same time one senses an openness towards a more direct and less idealized representation of reality, a hint of that naturalism that was taking hold in French painting. His touches of color, while not reaching the typical decomposition of the Impressionists, show a growing attention to the rendering of luminous and atmospheric effects, as well as of matter. De Beaulieu was an artist who traveled extensively and drew inspiration from the different places he visited. In particular, his stay along the Italian peninsula had a profound influence on his palette, which was enriched with warmer, more vibrant and luminous tones capable of conveying a feeling of serenity and harmony with the surrounding environment.