Artist: Paul Seignac (French, 1826 -1904)
Title: The Queen of the Vineyard
Medium: Antique Steel Engraving on wove paper after the original Master Engraver F. A. Heath.
Signature: Signed in the plate.
Dimensions: Image Size 7 5/8 x 8 7/8 inches.
Framed Dimensions: Approximately 17 x 18 inches.
Framing: This piece has been professionally matted and framed using all new materials.
A group of cottage children, having effectively performed their parts as grape gatherers, have assembled in what appears to be the bakery of the dwelling, and, like good disciples of Bacchus, are manufacturing, in their way, the juice of the purple grape into wine “of its kind.” Evidently the juvenile growers do not purpose to hold their vintage till it ripens and becomes mellow, till it comes to maturity: they seem to be consuming it almost as soon as the grapes are pressed out, the ‘Queen’ herself, seated under the canopy formed by an old umbrella, setting the example of self-indulgence by emptying her bottle into a sort of jar, while on of her subjects pours out her share of the brewing into a kind of hand basin; in fact almost every vessel within reach is utilized for vintage purposes.
Paul Seignac was French painter of portraits and genre subjects who was born at Bordeaux on 12th February 1826 and died in Paris in 1904. He was a pupil of Picot. He exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1849 and was given an honourable mention in 1889. What attracts the viewer to Seignac’s unpolished children are their charming little exploits. He places them in harmonious surroundings filled with atmosphere, lifted with that incalculable light which is but seldom to be found naturally. He shows the children playing freely and uninhibited by any onlooker who may spoil their imaginative and youthful games. We admire his expressiveness and breadth of view, whether he paints children playing with their dolls, or children dressing the pet dog, he gives the viewer an image which is real and very easy to accommodate. Examples of his work can be seen in museums throughout Europe, including Ajaccio and Reims.