Paul Milliet (1844-1918): Study of a Nude Ephebe Playing the Flute - From "Paphos ou la fete de Venus-Uranie" - 1873-1877 - Paris, Musee des Arts Decoratifs

*

Last week a seller on eBay France listed this beautiful lead pencil on paper study of a nude ephebe playing the flute by the well known French artist and writer Paul Milliet (1844-1918). I had the high bid this afternoon and it will be coming into my collection in the near future.  Milliet was a true Renaissance man. He was a skilled decorative painter, archaeologist, and writer of art and family history. He was the son of singer and poet Felix Milliet. He studied under Jean-Leonard Lugardon (1801-1884). Milliet decorated the grand foyer of the Grand Theatre in Geneva, Switzerland. The theme was an allegory representative of "Opera". He also assisted in the decoration of many French official buildings during his career. In Paris he participated in the decoration of two arches with allegories to Normandy and Nice in the southern Function Hall of the City Hall of Paris. At the end of his life he wrote the history of his family: "Une Famille de Republicans Fourieristes....A Family of Fourier Republicans." He died in Paris in 1918.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Title: Study for Paphos.... ou la fete de Venus-Uranie - Flutiste
Artist: Paul Milliet (1844-1918)
Materials: Lead pencil on paper
Dated: circa 1873-77