Antonio De La Gandara "Family Portrait" Canvas Oil Painting

Antonio De La Gandara (French 1862-1917) "Family Portrait" Oil on canvas with original gilt-wood frame (please ask for photos). Signed 'A de la Gandara' bottom right Canvas: 80 x 46 in This painting depicts Ambassador Del Solar (1861-1917) with his daughters, Felisa and Enriqueta. This painting was executed in 1904 and is illustrated in the following magazines: Je Sais Tout, February 15, 1909 and February 25, 1909, and Femina, August 1, 1909. Provenance: Christie's, New York, sale of November 1, 1995, lot 21. literature: Xavier Mathieu, Antoine de la Gandara: un témoin de la Belle Époque, Editions Librairie des Musées, 2011, p.93 (illustrated). Antonio de La Gándara (16 December 1861 – 30 June 1917) was a French painter, pastellist and draughtsman. La Gándara was born in Paris, France, but his father was of Spanish ancestry, born in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and his mother was from England. La Gándara's talent was strongly influenced by both cultures. At only 15 years of age, La Gándara was admitted as a student of Jean-Léon Gérôme and Cabanel at the École des Beaux-Arts. Soon, he was recognized by the jury of the 1883 Salon des Champs-Élysées, who singled out the first work he ever exhibited: a portrait of Saint Sebastian. Less than ten years later, young La Gándara had become one of the favourite artists of the Paris elite. His models included Countess Greffulhe, the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg, the Princess of Chimay, the Prince de Polignac, the Prince de Sagan, Charles Leconte de Lisle, Paul Verlaine, Leonor Uriburu de Anchorena, Sarah Bernhardt, Romaine Brooks, Jean Moreas, Winnaretta Singer, and Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau (seen below, and more famously portrayed by John Singer Sargent in his painting Madame X). Influenced by Chardin, his skill is demonstrated in his portraits, in a simplicity with the finest detail, or in the serenity of his scenes of the bridges, parks, and streets of Paris. Gandara participated in the most important exhibitions in Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Dresden, Barcelona and Saragossa.