Alfred Stevens

“One of the highlights of the current exhibition”, “a well-deserved success”… It was in these terms that critics described Alfred Stevens’ *La Consolation* (or *The Condolence Call*), presented at the 1857 Paris Salon, where the Belgian painter, who had settled in Paris, exhibited four paintings. La Consolation was his first major sale, to a collector in Berlin. Having initially explored social and historical themes, Alfred Stevens turned to genre painting, depicting wealthy ladies in their interiors. La Consolation is his first work devoted to widowhood in high society, a theme he would revisit.  Two ladies in mourning – a mother and her daughter? – pay a first-appearance visit to a friend, illustrating the codes of mourning under the Second Empire. Heavy, thick black crepe is de rigueur during the first few weeks, creating a striking contrast with the hostess’s dress, made of white muslin edged with pink. A visitor to the 1857 exhibition, the writer Jules Verne left us these lines about the painting: ‘Mr Stevens handles these simple subjects with great talent, imbuing them with an indescribable poignancy; it is impossible not to recall some similar situation in which one has found oneself; it seems as though we know this young girl who is weeping, this young girl who is comforting, and without much thought, we could name them; hence the charm of these subjects drawn from our memories”. More than merely an illustration of loss and the emotions it brings, *Consolation* is a portrayal of the Parisian woman of her time, her apartments, her attire, her life, depicted with elegance and meticulous detail – a sophisticated world and a polished style that would bring the artist renown. Stevens embraces the modernity of the moment through his choice of framing, reminiscent of the then-emerging art of photography (the armchair ‘cut off’ on the left), and the presence of oriental touches (the pouffe, a striking splash of colour in the foreground). As his contemporary Théophile Gautier noted, ‘Alfred Stevens paints the present moment, the modern woman, today’s fashion. He will be a figure of historical significance in a hundred years’ time, and his paintings will be consulted as precious documents’. 

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