Pierre Denis Bergeret (1846-1910) - Shrimp and lemon

Oil on wood panel, signed lower right

Dimensions : H. 15.8 x W. 22 cm (in its original frame: H. 34 x W. 40.5 cm)

Denis Bergeret was a French painter born in 1844 and died in 1910. He followed in the purest classical tradition, having been taught by the greatest masters of the time, Eugène Isabey, Jules Lefebvre and Léon Bonnat. As early as 1870, when he was just 21, he began exhibiting at the official Paris Salon, where he showed works until 1908.

He died prematurely, leaving a relatively small body of work, all the rarer for the fact that a large number of his paintings were acquired by museums in France, Switzerland and Belgium: Bernay, Ghent, Geneva, Pau, Rouen, Château de Malmaison, Charenton-le-Pont... and above all, a beautiful still life preserved by the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.  Bergeret's brushstrokes are lively and thick, and his colors are luminous, making his works sensual and gourmand. Highly appreciated during his lifetime, Bergeret was made a “Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur” in 1900.

This still life, with shrimps and a lemon rising from a dark background, is a real gem with a delicious subject. The modernity of the subject is in keeping with the artist's lively touch. The shrimp and lemon are arranged directly on the entablature, without plates or other supports: Bergeret wanted to give priority to what was dear to him, good food and the sensual pleasure it brings. The pictorial material is greasy and thick, and the brushstrokes are very deliberate. On closer inspection, this still life approaches abstraction, where color dominates. The drawing, almost sketchy yet extremely accurate, shows that Bergeret, despite the modernist evolution of his time, had lost nothing of the academic training he had received from the great masters. This painting is in perfect condition, with no damage to report. It is presented in its beautiful original wood and gilded stucco frame.

This work shows the extent to which Bergeret's current prices are far below what they should be in view of the artist's immense talent.