signed and dated 1920-red and black chalks on paper laid on-by the artist-
on canvas 110×145 cm Sold
About the artist
From the 1890s onwards, Schwabe began to exhibit his paintings to great acclaim, including at the much-talked-about Symbolist Rose-Croix exhibition (1892), organised by Joséphin Péladan. His pre-turn-of-the-century paintings clearly reflect the idealistic views of the Symbolists of that era and are characterised by a certain individualistic urge to experiment. His later works are more allegorical and conventional. Schwabe painted many mythological subjects, often women, frequently linked to themes such as suffering and death. His obsession with death stemmed, among other things, from the death of a very close friend in 1894, when he was 28 years old.
Schwabe would ultimately never leave France again. He died in 1926 in Avon, Seine-et-Marne. His work can currently be seen at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire in Geneva, amongst other places. The Lucile Audouy Collection includes several of Schwabe’s works, and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam also holds a number of his paintings.