Антикварная живопись «Карл VI с Одеттой де Шампдивер и ее шутом», Э. Лейг (E. Leygue)

Antique genre painting by the famous 19th-century French artist Eugène Leygues. Eugène Leygues (1813-1877) was a painter, a student of Eugène Delacroix, a frequent participant in Parisian salons, who worked in the field of historical and genre painting. The presented work is an author's repetition or preparatory work for one of the author's most famous monumental compositions. The artist depicts Charles VI, who is distracted from his madness by Odette and her jester. Leyg depicts the king sitting on a chair with a back carved in the neo-Gothic style, his gaze directed into the distance. At his feet, his mistress Odette de Champdiver plays cards, entertaining the king, and behind her stands a jester. However, judging by Charles VI's empty gaze, the endeavor seems to be failing. The King of France is presented in all his vulnerability thanks to the sentimental approach and simplicity of the private setting. An authentic network of craquelure is visible on the surface of the canvas, emphasizing its age and originality. The artist's signature, E. Leygue, is preserved in the lower part. The artist's works adorn the cathedrals of France and are kept in museums in Paris, Toulouse, Montpellier, Chambéry, and the Metropolitan Museum (New York).