Chevaillier (French, 19th-20th century)
Room I at the Luxembourg, ca. 1903–10
Oil on Canvas, 21 1/4 x 25 1/2 in.
Signed lower left: Chevaillier
1998.3

The lively scene of Chevaillier’s Room I at the Luxembourg depicts the Grand Salon of the Musée du Luxembourg in the first decade of the 20^th century. Men and women of different ages, races, and occupations wander through the collection of paintings — many of them identifiable — and gaze into vitrines filled with decorative arts. The heterogeneous collection of the museum can be seen in Chevaillier’s painting, which includes examples of large biblical scenes (Félix Joseph Barrias, The Exile of Tiberius, 1850; Théodule Ribot, Jesus and the Doctors, 1866) and portraits (Léon Bonnat, Le Cardinal Lavigerie, 1888; Paul Baudry, Madeleine Brohan de la Comédie-Française, 1860; Carolus-Duran, Lady with a Glove, 1869) as well as allegorical subjects (Henri Fantin-Latour, Night, 1897), peasants (Jules Bastien-Lepage, Hay Making, 1877), and contemporary exhibition spaces (Henri Gervex, Meeting of the Jury, before 1885).