Two sketches for the Capitole de Toulouse enter the Musée des Augustins

8/11/24 - Acquisitions - Toulouse, Musée des Augustins - Fortunately, closed museums do not remain inactive, and the Toulouse institution directed for two years by Laure Dalon (see the news item of 16/9/22) certainly could not miss these two attractive studies for the decor of the Salle des Illustres at the Capitole, presented by Bouvet & Associés on 21 February. Purchased for the museum by the Cercle des Mécènes des Augustins and immediately donated, these two works were presented at the Capitole de Toulouse at the beginning of the summer in the presence of elected representatives.

1. Paul Gervais (1859-1944)
Apollo and the Arts, study for a ceiling in the Salle des Illustres in Toulouse, 1897
Oil on canvas with grid lines - 110 x 120 cm
Toulouse, Musée des Augustins
Photo: Daniel Martin

See the image in its page

The first of these works, acquired for €4,800 hammer price, was used to decorate a fine ceiling at the northern end of this sumptuous gallery, just above Benjamin-Constant’s immense composition depicting the arrival of Pope Urban II in the city (see article). A comparison between the sketch (ill. 1) and the final work (ill. 2) shows that this was a final stage before the real thing, as all the elements are already well in place. Paul Gervais, an excellent decorator from Toulouse, trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in his home town before joining Jean-Léon Gérôme’s studio in Paris. He also played a key role in the decor of the Capitole building - where the Salle des Mariages has now been renamed in his name - where he exalted love, both of people and of the arts. The notice in the Musée des Augustins reminds us that these civic and very unchaste decors are very much in line with those he created for large hotels and cafés. The naturally constrained architectural setting of the ceilings in the Salle des Illustres in no way hindered his brushwork, which blossomed gracefully in a quintessential "art pompier" that would make his…