A Lovely Oil on Panel painting of two ballerinas in front of a Psyche Mirror by French Painter Marcel Cosson.
Born Jean-Louis Marcel Cosson in Bordeaux in 1878, he received artistic training and, as early as 1901, obtained an honorable mention at the Salon des Artistes Français, followed by a medal in 1911.
He also exhibited at the Salon de la Société des Beaux Arts, as well as the Salon des Tuileries.
Over the years, he participated in numerous exhibitions in France and abroad, notably in New York and London. His reputation grew, and his works sold for increasingly higher prices.
Marcel Cosson died in Paris in 1956.
His reputation has left a significant mark on the history of art.
Marcel Cosson painted what he experienced.
Very active in Parisian artistic circles, he depicted scenes from theaters, circuses, the Opera and its backstage areas, but also scenes of social and bourgeois life in brasseries, cafés, cabarets, restaurants, and racecourses.
Strongly influenced by the work of Edgar Degas, Cosson had a particular fondness for opera scenes, where he positioned himself and invited us to join him as privileged spectators in the intimate world of the dancers.
In the last quarter of the 19th century, the Opéra Garnier was a very fashionable place, where it was essential to be seen.
The most influential men, financiers, socialites, and prominent members of the nobility flocked there.
Becoming a “subscriber” was a social marker and a privilege.
Subscriptions were often linked to high social status, particularly for the boxes, which were a place of socializing and visibility.
This granted access to the backstage areas, but also to the Foyer de la Danse where the dancers could be found during rehearsals, intermissions, or before the performance.
Cosson thus depicts the entire world of these young girls in the secrecy of their preparations, behind the curtain, backstage, and in the dressing rooms…
These scenes, characterized by their spontaneity, grace, and carefree freshness, are highly sought after by collectors.
Cosson has managed to create his own style, blending an Impressionistic technique in his brushwork and thick impasto, which reveals broad brushstrokes, with a choice of bright and bold colors that are more reminiscent of Fauvism.
Painting his favorite subject, the Opera, Cosson invites us into one of the dressing rooms to witness the ballerinas’ preparations.
A privilege that allows us to share this intimate moment of final adjustments before they go on stage.
The room seems quite simple, just a table, an armchair, two paintings on the wall, and a full-length mirror to give the artists one last reassuring reflection before their performance.
This rather somber-looking room serves to highlight the grace and elegance of the dancers in their immaculate, voluminous tutus.
The red hair of the kneeling dancer is the focal point of color that catches the eye and enhances the entire painting.
A beautiful, delicate, and moving touch, signing this work of character.
Oil on panel, signed lower right, in a gilded and patinated wooden frame.
Unframed 18 x 15 cm
Framed 26 x 23 cm