Pair of Art Nouveau Decorative Panels with Purple and Yellow Irises. Work

Each panel features a carved reserve with a light background in which a bouquet of irises is displayed as a frieze: yellow and orange irises with long ribbon-like leaves for one, and purple irises set against a sketched landscape for the other. The paint, applied in soft strokes on mounted canvas, plays with gentle tones—water greens, cream, mauve—characteristic of the wall decor of the time. The original moulded pitch pine frames highlight the frieze format. The iris is one of the emblematic flowers of Art Nouveau, celebrated by the decorators and glassmakers of the École de Nancy as well as by the Parisian ornamental painters. These panels, likely from a woodwork decor or overdoor from around 1900, provide a testimony full of freshness. Condition report: Generally good condition considering their age. The canvases show cracks, wear, and visible signs of time, with original frames showing signs of use; the whole retains a very decorative authentic patina. A pair full of poetry, to be placed as a pendant above doors, a bed, or a sideboard.