Fernand Toussaint (1873-1956)

LADY IN THE BLACK HAT

1912
Pencil drawing coloured with watercolour, 47x72 cm. A figure of a young lady in white dress with a green blouse and stockings in the same color. The loose model of Parisian style from the beginning of the century is complemented by a striking black hat with ostrich feathers. The dreamy intimacy of the space defined by a folding screen with Japanese motifs is scented with the essence of femininity. The simplicity and restraint of the artistic expression reveal truly masterful painting technique. Fernand Toussaint was a Belgian painter and illustrator. He was born in Brussels and at the age of 15 began studying art with Jean-François Portaels at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts and three years later he went to Paris to continue his studies. He studied with the famous Belgian portraitist Alfred Stevens. He specialized in painting portraits of women, still lifes and urban scenery in the Impressionist, Art Nouveau and Post-Impressionist styles, and his poster work and also intimate landscapes are important. Framed, glazed.