Summer ball, attributed to Georges Alfred Bottini (1874-1907)

Summer Ball, oil on canvas mounted on panel, ca. 1905, 215x230 cm.

Attributed to Georges Alfred Bottini (1874-1907)

Georges Bottini, nicknamed "the painter of bars and girls", began his career in Cormon's studio. He also worked in the workshop of the picture restorer Gardi. Painter, draughtsman, lithographer and poster artist, he produced posters, advertising drawings and book illustrations and exhibited at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts between 1897 and 1906. At his first exhibition in 1889, he was hailed as a master by Gustave Geoffroy. A lover of Japanese prints and sensitive to Art Nouveau, he found his inspiration in the bars of Montmartre, the Moulin de la Galette, the Bal Tamarin and in brothels. In his work as a watercolourist and engraver, he portrayed his favourite themes, such as nightlife and the crowd of outcasts that populate Montmartre.