Carlos SCHWABE (Altona, 1866 - Paris, 1926) Woman with cradle among flowers or The Parque Watercolour gouache over pencil lines, passed through with a stylus Signed 'CARLOS SCHWABE' at bottom Bears several labels on verso The Fate, watercolour gouache on pencil strokes, signed, by C. Schwabe 10.43 x 6.3 in. 26.5 x 16.0 cm Provenance: Gabriel Séailles Collection (1852-1923) ; Collection of his wife Octavie Séailles, née Marie Virginie Octavie Paul (1855-1944) [label on reverse]; Then by descent to his daughter Andrée Séailles (1891-1983); Acquired from Andrée Séailles in September 1964 by Gérard Lévy; Gérard Lévy Collection; Then by descent Exhibitions: Neue Kunst in des Schweiz zu Beginn unseres Jahrhunderts, Zurich, Kunsthaus, 19 August - 24 September 1967, cat. no. 224: "Parze" [label on reverse]. Il Sacro e il profano, nell'arte dei Simbolisti, Turin, Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, June-August 1969, cat. no. 196 reproduced p.174: "Nel giardino in fiore" [label on reverse] The Sacred And Profane In Symbolist Art, Toronto (Canada), Art Gallery of Ontario, 1-26 November 1969, cat. no. 178 : "Parque" [label on reverse] Bibliography: Art et Décoration, 1st half 1905, reproduced [outside text] p. 69: "aquarelle de Carlos Schwabe" [watercolour by Carlos Schwabe]. Jumeau-Lafond, Jean-David, Carlos Schwabe, Symboliste et visionnaire, ACR Edition, 1994, reproduced p. 117: "Femme au berceau parmi les fleurs" or "La Parque" (work dated circa 1900) Born in Altona, Germany, Carlos Schwabe first lived in Switzerland, where he studied with Joseph Mettey at the École des arts industriels in Geneva, before moving to Paris in 1884. Self-taught, he did not follow any academic training and exhibited for the first time in 1891 at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. Although a recluse by temperament, he became involved in Parisian literary and artistic circles and became friends with Sâr Péladan. In 1892, he designed the poster for the first Salon de la Rose+Croix, and the works he exhibited there, which attracted considerable attention, were manifestos of symbolism, expressing a mystical art that resonated with the esoteric philosophy of the Sâr. Taking part in the major development of the bibliophilic world at the time, he devoted himself to illustration, supplying a considerable number of drawings for texts by Mallarmé, Baudelaire, Maeterlinck, Hérédia and Loüys. Very active in France, Schwabe also exhibited regularly at the Munich Secession from 1893, in Brussels and Geneva, and became a member of the Vienna Secession in 1897. Faithful to his aesthetic ideal right up until his death in 1926, the artist was always keen to keep his brush away from the modernist experiments carried out by the avant-gardes at the beginning of the last century. The perfection of his drawings and his sense of decoration earned Carlos Schwabe a place among the most important illustrators of his time. Produced several years after the first, somewhat angular and hieratic Parque, our watercolour bears witness to the technical and stylistic changes in Carlos Schwabe's work in the last decade of the 19th century. In addition to greater graphic flexibility, it seems that the artist was moving towards a more bucolic, peaceful and serene world, no doubt reflecting a certain isolation accentuated by the rarity of commissions. Stripped of any esoteric or didactic language, the composition is simpler, more accessible and familiar. Surrounded by meticulously flowered vegetation, the figure is seductive and carnal, her face bathed in soft light, her eyes lowered, more taken up by her maternal affection than by any mystical outpouring. In this sense, the work retains all its symbolist essence, delivering the delicate poetry of a maternity that is still a little melancholy, but sublimated by the grace of a nature that resembles a secret garden. We would like to thank Mr Jean-David Jumeau-Lafond for confirming the authenticity of this work by means of a visual examination on 28 November 2024 and for his invaluable assistance in writing this notice. Carlos SCHWABE (Altona, 1866 - Paris, 1926) 26.5 x 16.0 cm Born in Altona in Germany, Carlos Schwabe first lived in Switzerland, where he trained with Joseph Mettey at the École des arts industriels in Geneva, before settling permanently in Paris in 1884. Self-taught, he did not follow any academic training and exhibited for the first time in 1891 at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. Although a recluse by temperament, he became involved in Parisian literary and artistic circles and became friends with Sâr Péladan. In 1892, he designed the poster for the first Salon de la Rose+Croix, and the works he exhibited there, which attracted considerable attention, were manifestos of symbolism, expressing a mystical art that resonated with the esoteric philosophy of the Sâr. Taking part in the major development of the bibliophilic world at the time, he devoted himself to illustration, supplying a considerable number of drawings for texts by Mallarmé, Baudelaire, Maeterlinck, Hérédia and Loüys. Very active in France, Schwabe also exhibited regularly at the Munich Secession from 1893, in Brussels and Geneva, and became a member of the Vienna Secession in 1897. Faithful to his aesthetic ideal right up until his death in 1926, the artist was always keen to keep his brush away from the modernist experiments carried out by the avant-gardes at the beginning of the last century. The perfection of his drawings and his sense of decoration earned Carlos Schwabe a place among the most important illustrators of his time. Produced several years after the first Parque, with its slightly angular, hieratic archaism, our watercolour bears witness to the technical and stylistic developments in Carlos Schwabe's work in the last decade of the 19th century. In addition to greater graphic flexibility, it seems that the artist was moving towards a more bucolic, peaceful and serene world, no doubt reflecting a certain isolation accentuated by the rarity of commissions. Stripped of any esoteric or didactic language, the composition is simpler, more accessible and familiar. Surrounded by meticulously flowered vegetation, the figure is seductive and carnal, her face bathed in soft light, her eyes lowered, more absorbed in her maternal affection than in any mystical outpouring. In this sense, the work retains all its symbolist essence, delivering the delicate poetry of a maternity that is still a little melancholy, but sublimated by the grace of a nature that resembles a secret garden. We would like to thank Mr Jean-David Jumeau-Lafond for confirming the authenticity of this work through a visual examination on 28 November 2024, and for his invaluable help in writing this notice.