Adolphe Alexandre Lesrel (Genets, 1839 - 1929) was a nineteenth century French artist who specialised in painting historical genre scenes featuring cavaliers and elegantly dressed ladies. Lesrel’s style was derived from a study of seventeenth century Dutch painting and is characterised by its painstaking technique and attention to details of dress, furnishings and accessories. He also painted many pictures of cardinals.
Lesrel exhibited regularly at the Salon, the State sponsored exhibition held annually in May, in all its forms throughout his career. He won an honourable mention at the Salon of 1889. He was a member of the Société des Artistes Français from 1885 and he became an associate of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts from its foundation in 1890. He continued to exhibit regularly at the Salons of both societies once they split in 1891. In England, he exhibited many works at the Arthur Tooth and Sons Gallery in London. He is last recorded sending works from his home in Genets to England in 1921.
[Sold for $86,500 at Sotheby’s, New York - Oil on panel, 70.5 x 90 cm]