Louis Marie de Schryver (French, 1862-1942) Le marché aux fleurs de la Madeleine, 1891 Oil on canvas 21-1/2 x 25-3/4 inches (54.6 x 65.4 cm) Signed and dated lower left: De Schryver / .1891. Property from the Merryl Israel Aron Family Trust PROVENANCE: Private collection, Michigan; Christie's, New York, October 16, 1991, lot 7A; Acquired from the above. The present work highlights Louis Marie de Schryver's career-long passion for flowers. In Le marché aux fleurs de la Madeleine, they take center stage, resplendently colorful and bursting with life. Replete with eye-catching passages rendered in brisk, confident strokes, and the artist's subject of both the leisure and working classes on the streets of Paris, the composition draws together several details characteristic of de Schryver's work, informed by his careful observations of modern, urban life. In the present work, the woman tending the stall stoops to pack a vibrant pink azalea plant into its paper wrapper, the swan-like shape of which lends a sense of elegance to her labor. The artist's particular affinity for the flower sellers of Paris is evident in their dignified appearance and the careful application of the paint immortalizing them. In the distance, the viewer catches a glimpse of a modish bourgeoise strolling around the market with her black standard poodle (the fashionable breed, a favorite of the artist's canine subjects). The men of de Schryver's Paris typically attract less attention, yet the gentleman patron of the flower stall is compelling. Standing quietly at the far right, holding his cane and examining his gloves, the man acts as a pillar, just edging into the picture plane. The radical crop of the figure suggests that the then new medium of photography, with its abrupt truncation and daring angles, may have been a source of compositional inspiration for the artist. Interestingly, on the occasion of the 1991 sale of this work, the artist's daughter, Elisabeth Hert-de Schryver, confirmed the gentleman was not just another boulevardier, but the artist's friend. Outside of his regular employment as a notary public in Paris, he frequently posed for the painter. HID12401132022 © 2026 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice

Private collection, Michigan; Christie's, New York, October 16, 1991, lot 7A (as Le marché de fleurs de la Madeleine); Acquired by the present owner from the above.

Lined. Stabilized craquelure.
Under UV: inpainting to areas of aforementioned craquelure. Some strengthening to shadows.
Framed Dimensions 26.5 X 31 Inches