Les Bouquets

A double-sided oil painting on hardboard from the home and atelier of French artist Cécile Hertz-Eyrolles (1875–1974). The reverse bears the artist’s atelier stamp.

One side presents a vertical still life: a bouquet of pink and red flowers gathered in a blue-grey vase, set against a softly layered ground of pale mineral blues and chalky stone tones, gently warmed with muted beige passages. Stems rise and spread outward in a fan-like movement, giving the composition a gentle upward rhythm. The arrangement feels like a garden bouquet, assembled with care, yet retaining a certain informality and quiet joy. Leaves along the stems reinforce this sense of freshness and immediacy, suggestive of the sanctuary of home and garden that so often nourished the artist’s work.

Brushwork varies in density and direction. Certain blossoms are built up with heavier impasto, while others are rendered with lighter, more fluid strokes. 

The reverse offers a horizontal composition, denser and more compact, filling nearly the full width of the carton. Petals at the center are worked with textured, comma-like strokes, while those at the edges are looser and more open. The contrast creates depth and subtly draws the eye inward.

Painted on both sides, the work reflects Hertz-Eyrolles’ independent studio practice and experimental spirit, an artist guided by instinct rather than convention.

“Painting was my first passion; its language, the emotions I feel - it all tempts and delights me.” -Cécile Hertz-Eyrolles (1875–1974).

Cécile Hertz-Eyrolles biography