Chloe

 

Chloe

Well I admit this is not actually the typical ‘public art’. But it is in one way public art as it hangs in a pub in Melbourne called Young and Jacksons. The painting is hung in what is called the Chloe’s bar which is located on the top floor of the pub.

Description

 Jules Lefebvre named his painting ‘Chloe’. Little is known about the model called Marie. She is said to about 19 years old when the painting was made. Roughly two years after the painting was made, Marie is said to have committed suicide by consuming a boiled soup of poisonous matches. The reason for the early end of this beautiful woman is thought to be unrequitted love

Artist

Jules Joseph Lefebvre was a French figure painter. Lefebvre entered the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in 1852 and was a pupil of Léon Cogniet.

He won the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1861. Between 1855 and 1898, he exhibited 72 portraits in the Paris Salon. In 1891, he became a member of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts. He was long a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts.

Many of his paintings are single figures of beautiful women. Among his best portraits were those of M. L. Reynaud and the Prince Imperial (1874Installed

Chloe painting is worth a look, the artist has been able to bring out the lolita innocense of the model, looking more like a nymph lost in the woods.

Installed

Chloe was painted by Lefebvre around 1875 when it made its debut at the Paris Salon. It was purchased by Henry Figsby Young, the then owner of the pub Young and Jacksons in 1909

 Where can I find it?

Chloe’s Bar in Young and Jackson’s pub located on the Corner of Swanston & Flinders Streets. It is hard to miss. The painting hangs on the first floor lounge called the Chloe’s Bar