Francois Brunery (1849 to 1926)
Francois Brunery was born in Turin, Northern Italy and studied in Paris under Jean-Leon Gerome (1824-1904). It was in the early 1890′s that he began to gain the reputation as the leading artist in cardinal genre paintings. At this time, Europe was experiencing an economic prosperity for the middle class and with it carried a lessening in regard for the church. The artist superbly paints the figures in a lavish interior and captures the humor in each setting.
Information courtesy of New Orleans Auction Gallery, January 2007