Bidspirit auction | Andre Brouillet ”Bread March to

Andre Brouillet ”Bread March to Versailles” Oil - Pierre Aristide Andre Brouillet (French, 1857-1914). Very large oil on canvas painting titled ”Bread March to Versailles, ” 1882. Signed and dated along the lower right. Provenance: Karl XII Swedish Antiques, 2001; From the Estate of Gary Fink. Lot Essay: Pierre Aristide Andre Brouillet was a French academic painter known for genre scenes, portraits, landscapes, and orientalist works. Born in Charroux to a sculptor father, he initially studied engineering before training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Jean-Leon Gerome and Jean-Paul Laurens. He debuted at the Salon in 1879 and went on to earn numerous exhibition awards and public commissions. His most famous work, ”A Clinical Lesson at the Salpetriere” (1887), depicts neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot demonstrating hysteria before his students and colleagues, including Joseph Babinski and Gilles de la Tourette. Influenced by Gerome, he embraced orientalist themes after visiting his wife Emma Isaac’s native Algeria, where he adopted her cousin’s daughter, Yvonne, later an opera singer. He also visited Greece for state commissions, painting Queen Olga and ”Renan meditant sur l’Acropole.” Celebrated as the “peintre de la femme” by Femina in 1904, Brouillet was made an officer of the Legion d’honneur in 1906, the same year he earned a gold medal at the Salon for a large historical composition for the Sorbonne. He died in 1914 from illness contracted while aiding Belgian refugees during World War I. Gary C. Fink was a collector with both a lighthearted sense of humor and a serious commitment to art. Through the Museum Louvre It or Leave It, he offered Minnesotans an offbeat, thought-provoking experience; through MIA gifts, he broadened institutional collections; and through his scholarship, he continues to enable the next generation of artists. A Renaissance soul in the heart of Minnesota’s art community, Gary C. Fink was more than an astute collector - he was a spirited patron whose unconventional vision left an indelible mark on the creative landscape. Height: 9 ft 1 in x width: 11 ft 2 in. Condition: Please email us at condition@revereauctions.com for a condition report or additional photos.