Antoine CALBET
 (Engayrac, 1860 – Paris, 1942)

 Woman at the masked ball

 Oil on panel
 Signed lower left
 33 x 24 cm

 Born in Engayrac in Lot-et-Garonne, Antoine Calbet began to develop an impeccable technique at the École des Beaux-Arts in Montpellier in the studio of Édouard-Antoine Marsal (1845-1929). He then had no difficulty gaining access to the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the prestigious studio of Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889).

 Antoine Calbet arrived on the Parisian art scene at a time when the Third Republic was seeking to establish its legitimacy through prestigious artistic achievements. Noticed by President Fallières, with whom he became a friend, he then juggled between official commissions and private requests.

 The artist exhibited regularly at the official Salon, his first painting being accepted when he was just twenty years old. He was awarded medals in 1891, 1892 and 1893. He was also awarded a silver medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1900 for the creation of a panel for the Colonial Pavilion.

 His success at the Salon brought him many official commissions for large decorations: the ceiling of the Théâtre Decourneau in Agen, wall decorations for the Town Halls of Pamiers and Agen. In Paris, his evocations of Nice, Évian, Nîmes and Grenoble can be admired in the restaurant of the Gare de Lyon Le Train Bleu.

 Calbet's painting restores the positive atmosphere that marks the success of the Third Republic, which endures despite the horrors of the Great War. His subjects are light, euphoric, his women of exquisite beauty, his official portraits imposing. He excels in gallant scenes, the evocation of an idyllic past in the style of Watteau, or the exaltation of a grandiose nature.

 Antoine Calbet also illustrated a good number of works by his contemporaries including Jean Lorrain, Henri de Régnier and Pierre Louÿs and also worked for periodicals such as L'Illustration.

 The artist died in Paris on August 21, 1942.

 Museums : Paris (Mus. d'Orsay and Petit Palais), Agen, Toulouse, Béziers, Reims, Dallas…

 (Source: Clarisse Faurie, Antoine Calbet (1860-1942), life and work, University of Toulouse, 2004)