FERDINAND ROYBET Circle (Uzès, France, 1840-Paris, 1920).
"Popular festive scene".
Oil on canvas.
The frame is damaged.
Measurements: 66 x 91 cm; 90 x 117 cm (frame).
The work we are dealing with has its roots in the "kermesse", Dutch term that designates the popular peasant festivities typical of the Netherlands. It is a subject popularised by David Teniers the Elder (1582-1649), who treated it with a healthy sense of humour that enjoyed a long life among genre painters in both Flanders and Holland. A French painter and engraver known above all for his historical and genre scenes, Ferdinand Roybet moved to Paris in 1983, where he studied with Jean-Georges Vibert and copied the Old Masters in the Louvre. In 1865, after some financial difficulties, he presented two paintings at the Salon, and the following year he achieved great success when one of his works was bought by Mathilde Bonaparte for 5,000 francs. He travelled to Belgium and Algeria. After his death in 1921, his paintings were the subject of a special exhibition at the Salon. Six years later, Consuelo Fould, who owned a large number of Roybet's paintings, created the Roybet Fould Museum in Courbevoie.