Henri DECAISNE
 (Brussels, 1799 – Paris, 1852)

 Portrait of a young woman with a blue ribbon
 Oil on canvas
 Signed and dated lower left
 42 x 42 cm
 1852

 The city of Brussels has given birth to many eminent men in the arts, sciences and literature; but too often it has seen them expatriate and seek a more brilliant place abroad. Henri Decaisne will not fail to make this observation.

 Born in Brussels on January 27, 1799, the future artist entered the high school of this city early and worked so well that he obtained a scholarship. It was at the same time a reward and a help, because, at that time, the child, who had just lost his father and mother, was then left in charge of a family of which he was the eldest, and which still consisted of three sons and a daughter.

 Decaisne began his studies in drawing and then painting in his 15th year under the tutelage of C. François in Brussels. In 1816, he won the prize for antique figures in his final year of study at the Academy. Subsequently, on David's advice, he left for Paris in 1818 and entered the studio of Girodet, then that of Baron Gros.

 Present at the Paris Salon from 1824, Decaisne saw his talent grow from year to year: each new exhibition marked new progress for the painter. Grand Prix in 1827, medalist again in 1828, these distinctions allowed him to establish the most honourable relationships. Never leaving Paris, Decaisne made a name for himself there as an excellent portraitist. The artist thus had the honour of portraying the crowned heads of his century (the Duke of Orléans, 1833 – Princess Clémentine of Orléans, 1833 – the Queen of the Belgians, 1835) as well as the intellectuals of the time (Madame Malibran as Desdemona, 1831, Victor Schoelcher, 1833 – Alphonse de Lamartine, 1839).

 However, tired of the fanatical cult of form taught by David's followers, he began to look for pictorial novelties. He made the discovery and then studied English painting and began to draw inspiration from it. We will also note a noticeable influence of Lawrence in the composition and tones used in our Portrait of a Young Woman with a Blue Ribbon.

 It was in 1840, at the age of 41, after having supported his family and thanks to the prize received by the Belgian government in recognition of his monumental painting of illustrious Belgians, that he was able to undertake the long-awaited trip to Italy.

 Decaisne received the Cross of the Order of Leopold in 1839 for his painting of illustrious Belgians and was made a knight of the Legion of Honour in 1842.

 Then aged 53 and in full possession of his art, the artist signed and dated our canvas 1852, the same year his self-portrait was completed and just before his death on October 17, 1852.

 Decaisne is buried in the Montmartre cemetery with his brother Joseph, a renowned botanist from the mid-19th century, and his mother Marie.

 Museums : Versailles, Amiens, Antwerp, Brussels, Hamburg, The Hague…