catalog text
VINCENT JEAN BAPTISTE CHEVILLIARD (FRENCH, 1841-1904) PAINTING "ELECTION TIME"
Signed 'V. Chevilliard' at lower left, executed in oil on panel
Item # C102608
A humorous scene depicting a parish priest in his simple black garment studying the political posters affixed to the wall. The village around him is stark, devoid of ornament leaving the lone figure as the focal point. With his hand is clasped behind his back and walking stick tucked firmly under his arm, a small smile plays across his face as the text catches his eye. Clearly something about Camel-Leon as the liberal candidate is amusing to our priest as he reads the somewhat legible election placards. The work is signed lower left “V. Chevilliard” in his beautiful scrolling script, the early and possibly original frame scripted with the artist’s name in bold and titled “The Election”.
Vincent Jean Baptiste Chevilliard was admitted to the École Nationale Supérieure Des Beaux-Arts of Paris in 1865 and studied under François Edouard Picot (1786-1868), Tirnelli and Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889). He debuted his work An Invalid Woman the same year at Salon. The present work is an excellent example of Chevilliard’s speciality, where the body of his genre scenes focus on amusing looks at village priest daily life.
His works are held at museums in Semur-en-Auxios (The Chemin de la Belle-Marie at Barbizon, in Winter), Stockholm (The End of Lent) and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London among others.
Literature: E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, vol. X, Gründ, 2006, p. 914
Measurements: 14 3/8" H x 12 5/8" W x 2 1/2" D (frame); 6 1/4" H x 4 1/2" W (panel)
Condition Report:
Frame with significant wear, chip losses and associated inpainting. Appears to be free of restoration under UV, cleaned in the last decade or so. Frame appears to be original to the panel or at least of the period.