*This painting is sold but the artist is regularly available in our inventory		Gaston La Touche* French, 1854 – 1913 Une Soirée Élégance Oil on panel 30 x 31 1/2 inches (77 x 80 cm) Signed: Gaston la Touche 01 Literature: To be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné on the artist by Selina-Baring MacLennan and Roy Brindley Gaston La Touche, a French painter and printmaker, was born in Saint-Cloud in 1854. A self-taught artist, he was from childhood determined to be a painter and was supported in this ambition by his well-to-do parents. His first paintings from the 1880s were domestic scenes in the style of the Dutch 17th century. They were vigorous, harsh and somber and met with no success: he burnt most of them in 1891. In the late 1880s his friend Felix Bracquemond prompted him to discard his early style and to use the colors favored by the Impressionists; he also adjusted his brushwork to small, petal-like strokes of color. In 1890 he showed Phlox and Peonies, both colorful scenes of women, children and flowers, at the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts, which brought him immediate success. These works represent the beginning of a radical shift in La Touche's subject matter, palette and technique. During the six years to 1896, he gradually, yet steadily evolved from realism to the idealism that was to be the hallmark of his oeuvre; the creation of a harmonious, luminous and charming world of parks and gardens, nymphs and fountains, fireworks and fetes-champetres. La Touche participated in shows mounted by the Societe des Artistes Francais in the 1880s and 1890s, receiving a third place medal in 1884 and second place medal in 1888. In 1889 La Touche won a bronze medal at the l'Exposition Universelle and was later awarded a gold medal at the 1900 l'Exposition Universelle. In 1900, La Touche also received the Legion d'honneur and was made an officer of the Legion in 1909. In 1908 an impressive retrospective featured over 300 of his works at the Galerie Georges Petit in Paris. In 1909 his paintings were exhibited in another large show at Boussod and Valadon at The Hague. At this time La Touche was awarded several official commissions for large-scale decorative schemes for various French ministries. These large canvases and murals are characterized by glowing colors and broad brushstrokes. La Touche's most well known works remain his light-filled garden and fetes gallants paintings, all completed with his trademark delicate brushwork and beautifully vivid palette. Une Soirée Elegance exemplifies La Touche’s mature style. On a large square canvas, he has painted a work of great charm and grace.  The painting captures the mannered party ritual of a young woman bowing before her hostess. The elegantly attired man on the left watches the woman curtsy, and in turn we see the woman, in a lovely white dress adorned with lilac flowers, glance up at the older woman in black. In company with the many party-goers reflected in an ornate mirror, LaTouche creates a dazzling display of directional glances, a movement that reflects the lively scene of the soirée. On the top of a sensuously curved Art Nouveau console, an ornate statue delicately balances the composition. Rendered in elegant hues of golden yellows, darks and lights, the painting revels in the touches of cherry wood red, pale greens and the floral pinks and lilacs of the young woman’s dazzling white dress. Our painting exemplifies La Touche’s command of light brushstrokes and his vivid palette. Museum Collections include The Art Institute of Chicago; The Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco; The Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg; Dayton Art Institute, Ohio; Museum of Modern Art, Paris; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia; Musée de Medan, France; Alencon, France; le Mans, France