Original oil painting depicting a group of figures rendered in an expressive, bold color palette with strong brushwork and dramatic contrast. The composition features four figures in an interior or wooded setting, executed in an expressionist style. The painting is housed in an ornate gilt wood frame with carved floral and foliate decoration. The work is unsigned and attributed to an unknown artist. Canvas appears secured within the frame; backing paper and hanging wire are present. This item is in good pre-owned, previously displayed condition with light wear and surface markings. Please reference all photos for full details.
Frame: 22" x 18" x 2". Weight: 8.3 lbs.
This item is originally from the collection of liquor icon Michel Roux. One of Mr. Roux’s signature spirits at Crillon was absinthe, the anise-flavored spirit known for its popularity among 19th-century artists like van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec. It was banned by the United States in 1912 amid concerns that wormwood, one of its ingredients, which contained thujone, caused hallucinations. In 2000, Mr. Roux introduced a legal absinthe, Absente, which used a sister botanical, Southern wormwood, with only trace amounts of thujone.
Share this lot:
