Agapit Stevens

AGAPIT STEVENS (Brussels, 1848 - 1924)
"Oriental woman in interior".
Oil on canvas.
Original frame.
In perfect condition.
Measurements: 100 x 65 cm; 140 x 103 cm (frame).

This is a work conceived as a delicate feast for the senses. A palette of velvety tones introduces us in an interior that intoxicates with the aroma of the roses and the perfume of the silks. A young woman, probably a dancer, raises her pearly arms in a graceful gesture displaying glittering gold bracelets and precious stone settings. With curly hair and rounded features, the girl reclining on cushions smiles and looks at us flirtatiously with her large almond-shaped eyes. Next to her, a velvet-lined jewelry box displays a pearl necklace glimpsed behind the open lid. The cushions upholstered with passementerie and brocades, the silk drapery and the satin skirt add textures and qualities that delight our senses, immersing us in an exotic and sensual interior. The marble column, the pai-pai on the lap and the tropical plant leaves peeking out from the side complete the orientalist ambiance.

Agapit Stevens was a Belgian painter who specialized in glamorous women in interiors, genre scenes, landscapes, seascapes, seascapes, still lifes and orientalist scenes in which he depicted odalisques, dancers and harem musicians. Agapit Stevens' full name was Agapit Pierre Jean Jean Joseph Van Gotsenhoven. His father was a painter of genre scenes. His brother (Alphonse Jacques) René Stevens was also a painter. Agapit Stevens was a member of L'Essor, an association of Brussels artists founded on March 4, 1876 by students of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. The association organized numerous exhibitions of its members and other artists in Brussels and other cities in Belgium. Agapit Stevens painted glamorous women in interiors, genre scenes, landscapes, seascapes, seascapes, still lifes and orientalist scenes depicting odalisques, dancers and harem musicians.