“Une Jeune Femme”

Medium	Oil on board
Signed	Signed lower left
Size	18.00" × 15.00" (45.7cm × 38.1cm)
Framed Size	27.00" × 24.00" (68.6cm × 61.0cm)
Dated	1935
Condition	Very good condition
Provenance	Galerie Borghese - Paris 1935 (cachet verso)

Summary

There is a type of Parisian woman that exists only in painting — slender, self-possessed, with the particular quality of looking at the world as though it exists primarily for her amusement. Jean-Gabriel Domergue (1889–1962) invented her, or at the very least perfected her. Over the course of a career spanning six decades he painted approximately three thousand such women, and the best of them — including Une Jeune Femme — have a vivacity and elegance that no amount of repetition could dilute. The technique is immediately recognisable. The line is fluid and rapid, drawing on the lessons of his teachers Degas and Boldini — two painters for whom the moving, animated figure was the supreme subject and the swift, decisive stroke its only appropriate expression. The palette is warm but carefully restrained, the colour used to illuminate rather than decorate, the whole carried by a quality of brushwork that looks effortless and is not. Domergue worked constantly, filling sketchbook after sketchbook, and the apparent ease of his portraits is the product of enormous application. Born in Bordeaux in 1889, he exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français at seventeen, won the Prix de Rome in 1920 and subsequently became the most sought-after portraitist of the Années Folles — painting the French and foreign aristocracy, the grandes cocottes, the actresses, the society women who shaped what Parisian elegance meant. He organised the great balls and galas of the era in Paris, Cannes, Monaco and Deauville, and in 1926 built the Villa Fiesole in Cannes — later a museum — where Gina Lollobrigida and Brigitte Bardot came to sit for him. He was made Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1933 and appointed curator of the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris in 1955. His work is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and the Royal Collection in London.

£11,750.00

GBP

Available now — insured worldwide delivery

Buy online

Enquire WhatsApp

We've sold 6 paintings by Jean Gabriel Domergue See them

Response within 3 hours (GMT)
Authenticity guaranteed
Secure checkout
200+ five-star reviews

Why buy from Leighton Fine Art

Leighton Fine Art is a specialist dealer in Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. We’ve been trading online since 2001, and attend international art fairs including the Palm Beach Show, the Treasure House Fair and the San Francisco Fall Show. Every painting we sell comes with a guarantee of authenticity. Take a look at our near-perfect feedback rating across tens of thousands of sales on Google or Reviews.io.

Viewing & Purchasing

We offer no-obligation viewings at your own home or at our premises in Buckinghamshire – about 40 minutes by car or 30 minutes by train from Central London.

We accept all major credit and debit cards, wire transfer and PayPal. Instalment plans can be arranged on most purchases if required.

Our “on approval” service allows us to ship works of art anywhere in the world, so you can familiarise yourself with them in the comfort of their intended surroundings.

Complimentary Worldwide Shipping

We arrange specialist art courier services worldwide, ensuring your acquisition arrives safely and promptly. Every shipment is fully insured, tracked and handled by experienced fine art logistics partners.

Our service includes professional packing to museum standards, all shipping costs, and full insurance coverage.

For UK clients, we’re pleased to arrange personal delivery and installation where appropriate.Please notify us within 7 days of receipt if you would like to return any item, for any reason. We simply ask that all works are returned in the same condition as they were shipped. A restocking fee will be applied to cover shipping and relisting charges.

Returns

Please notify us within 7 days of receipt if you would like to return any item, for any reason. We simply ask that all works are returned in the same condition as they were shipped. A restocking fee will be applied to cover shipping and relisting charges.

Authenticity

All of our works are covered by our own guarantee of authenticity, which covers the work for its lifetime of ownership with the purchaser. We carry out stringent due diligence on every work listed — should we make an error, we offer a full money-back guarantee on the purchase.