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TITLE:
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My New Brother
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PERIOD:
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19th century
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CATEGORY:
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Paintings
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MATERIALS:
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oil on canvas
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SIZE:
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15 X 18 1/8 inches
Framed size is 29 3/4 x 33 inches
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DESCRIPTION:
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Victor Gabriel Gilbert was born in Paris in 1847. Established later as an artist of French genre paintings, Gilbert's natural drawing ability was to be acknowledged at an early age. However, due to financial circumstances, Gilbert was left to work as an artisan, a decorator. The artist's only formal art education was from Pierre Levasseur at the Ecole de La Ville de Paris while he also studied under Victor Adam (1801-1866) and Charles Busson (1859-1933). Recognized by the Parisian public (the artist lived in France for 86 years), Gilbert was well noted for market scenes and portraits of elegant women as well as the landscapes of Normandy. Gilbert's market scenes included the everyday images of fish and flowers, poultry and vegetables with a fine attention to detail. During his career, Gilbert exhibited first at the Salon in both 1873 and 1874. While associated there, Gilbert met and founded a friendship with Pierre Martin who was a primary supporter of the Impressionists. It was Martin who collected works by Cezanne (1839-1906), Gauguin (1848-1903), Van Gogh (1853-1890) and Victor Gilbert. Through Martin's patronage, Gilbert was allowed to abandon his career as a decorator, devoting full concentration to painting. Thereafter, Gilbert exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Francais. In 1889, he was given the Award d'Argent. In 1897, Gilbert was made a knight of the Legion d'Honneur. Later in 1926, the artist won the Prix Leon Bonnat. "My New Brother" is at once a nostalgic look into the familial adoration of a newly arrived infant to the family. A child of no more than 6 months is perched in a baby carriage, recieving the forward kiss of the sibling's five year old sister. To the children's right, Gilbert has added the strong yet compassionate figure of the adoring grandmother - or perhaps aunt or even nanny. Dressed in a tunic overcoat, the figure continues a project of linen handi-work while witnhessing a most tender moment with the children. Gilbert's trio are placed in full front of the viewer. The park setting allows for a relaxed atmosphere, bathed in browns, cremes and taupes. The artist adds strong color within the baby carriage (a celestial blue cloth inset cover) and the honeysuckle pink belted smock worn by the baby's sister. Gilbert has added in a circle of red and white flowers behind the group, with flowering blossoms of lavender and pink in the background. Works by Victor Gabriel Gilbert are now housed in private and public collections throughout the world. Gilbert's work may also be seen at the Hotel de Ville in Paris as part of the original decoration as well as in the Chateau Museum in Dieppe, France. Victor Gabriel Gilbert died in 1935. Museums: Bayeux, Besancon, Dieppe, Le Havre, Liege, Lille, Nice, Strasbourg.
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