1915 painting "Portrait of Merethy" signed René Prou

Rare oil on canvas signed rené prou, decorator, essential figure of art deco who exceptionally took up the brush and dedicated this powerful and mysterious chiaroscuro portrait to his friend méréthy. An emblematic figure of the decorative arts of art deco, rené prou (1887-1947) alongside rhulmann, leleu, dunand, subes and brandt. From 1919 he participated in various salons and quickly distinguished himself by the design of trains or liners, thanks to large orders, mitsukoshi stores in tokyo and the waldorf-astoria in new york. Decoration of the luxurious pullman carriages of the orient express. He is not known to have been active as a painter, this painting dated 1915 is a precious exception, dedicated “to my dear méréthy kind regards” the instigator and inspiration remain a mystery. The canvas is solid and stretched on its original frame despite the repairs visible in the back photo. A slight dent without a hole should be noted. It is framed by an important original carved gilded frame. Dimensions of the frame: height 60 cm width 50 cm depth 5 cm dimensions of the work: height 40 cm width 31.5 cm ref tablo240408.