Emile Thivier (1858 - 1922) Seated Female Nude

Emile Thivier (1858 - 1922) was Parisian by birth. He traveled extensively in France and abroad. He always took advantage of new experiences to renew artistic subjects and improve and replace his color palette. He firmly believed that the answer to any interpretation could be found in nature. Art for him was in fidelity to nature coupled with an intelligent choice of subject matter, light, and mood. He studied at the Academy Julian and was greatly influenced by the Academic techniques of Georges Picot (1838-1909) and William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Thivier in his concepts is a strong academic. His works fall between the major trends in painting in the latter part of the 19th century which was marked by the passage of the Academy of Fine Arts and influence of modernism. The first part of his career was devoted to portraiture commissioned by wealthy patrons. He traveled to Normandy where the climate was reputed to aid his frail health and to the south of France where his color palette was influenced by the light.

This drawing came from a dealer in Paris and the minute I saw it I knew it had to be part of my collection. As I have mentioned previously, quality female nudes from the 19th century Academie period are somewhat rare. You find a lot of female nudes from the mid-20th century which do not even approach the quality of this drawing. The artist has rendered the pose with great sensitivity, notice how delicately he has rendered the model's left hand. Indeed a beautiful example of Emil Thivier's talent.
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Caption: Seated Female Nude
Artist: Emile Thivier (1858 - 1922)
Medium: Pierre noir on paper
Dated: circa 1870-1890
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Here are a few more academic nude drawings and mature works by Emile Thivier:
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Young Saint John the Baptist ...exhibited at the 1880 Paris Salon

Standing Male Nude --- Pay close attention to the model's left hand. It appears Thivier had some problems with the foreshortening of the forearm and hand and flubbed it up. The hand seems out of proportion. I guess even accomplished artists have their off days. Compare his missed application in drawing that hand and the same foreshortening problem on the Yohn standing male nude in the previous entry and how Yohn handled the same problem and succeeded. Drawing is about observation. I once heard a story about Manet and Monet as they sat sketching on the riverbank. After some time Monet had a pile of wadded up sketches piled up at his feet. His friend looked over sympathetically and smiled. "Having an off day my friend?" Sometimes genius just doesn't come easily, even to the most accomplished of us.

Suzannah Hammer ...

Promenade in the Alps..

Le pecheur d'agguilles..

Laundry in the river...