Image size of this print is 24 X 18 inches.

LILACS by Raoul M DeLongpre (b. 1843) Jordan-Volpe Gallery, N.Y.C.

A noted painter of floral still lifes, Raoul M. de Longpr, was born in 1843. He was the brother of Paul de Longpre, who was also a painter of flowers, and the son of Jean-Antoine-Marie-Victor and Marie-Therese Pinchaud de Longpre.

By 1877, Raoul and Paul were living together in Paris. During that same year, he exhibited a gouache of Lilacs and one of Lilacs and Chrysanthemums at the Paris Salon. In the 1880 Salon, he showed Peonies and Lilacs, executed in the same medium. The number of years that Raoul lived with Paul de Longpre and his family is unknown. However, by 1890, after the Paris bank holding Paul's life savings failed and he decided to move to the United States, Raoul chose to remain in Paris. In 1901, he married Eugenie Rongieres.

It appears that, like Paul, Raoul may also have made scientific studies of flowers while living in Paris, since he painted with an incredible degree of accuracy. Indeed, he preferred painting lilacs, but often combined them with roses or other blooms. As in the case of Paul de Longpre and, indeed, with most flower painters throughout the nineteenth century, Raoul must also have been aware of "language of flowers" literature, available in France as well as in other parts of Europe and the United States. His lilacs, often white, may indicate the sentiment "youthful innocence." Combined with roses, which carry such meanings as "purity," "love" or "beauty" depending on the color of the rose, a bouquet of red roses and white lilacs can mean "youthfulness and first love."