Paul Steck

PAUL STECK (France, 1866-1924)
"Puppet of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice", 1897.
Oil on canvas.
Presents stamp on the back.
Signed, dated and located (Venice) in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 73 x 39 cm; 91 x 57 cm (frame).
In this work Paul Steck immortalizes the pulpit of the Basilica of San Marcos in Venice, emphasizing his mastery in the treatment of the light and the architectural detail. The work offers a serene and monumental vision of the sacred space, charged with symbolism.
Paul Steck, pseudonym of Paul Albert Dugas, was the son of two dramatic artists, Paul Prosper Dugas and Léonie Boeteman, although he later adopted the surname of his stepfather, the conductor Arthur Steck, in recognition of his formative influence. He was a disciple of Jean-Léon Gérôme and, after military service between 1887 and 1890, embarked on a multifaceted artistic career as a painter, composer, librettist and civil servant.
He began by illustrating musical scores before also devoting himself to composition and painting. At the 1896 Salon, he received a scholarship from the Ministry of Public Instruction and Fine Arts thanks to one of his exhibited works, which allowed him to travel to European cities such as Bruges and Venice. That same year, he joined the Société des artistes français and, in 1900, he was awarded a bronze medal at the Universal Exposition.
His career as an educator was equally outstanding. Between 1903 and 1912, he taught at the École nationale des arts industriels de Roubaix, and represented France at several international congresses on the teaching of drawing, where he received numerous awards, including a gold medal in London in 1908.
In 1915 he was appointed deputy director of the École nationale des arts décoratifs, and from 1920 he held general inspection functions in the field of applied arts. In 1923 he was appointed inspector general of the teaching of drawing for secondary education.
His artistic production also included scenographies and stained glass windows, such as those made for the Alhambra theater in Rouen in 1906. In parallel to his institutional functions, he continued to create music and theater, such as the libretto and score for the comic opera L'Accordée de village (1907), in collaboration with Henry de Chennevières.
Paul Steck's work is distinguished by a constant interrelation between the visual, musical and pedagogical arts, consolidating him as a key figure in the confluence between creation and artistic education in France at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.