Portrait of a lady

Auguste Serrure 1825 - 1903, was a Flemish born painter. The description of his birthplace is generally described as Belgium, however the Flemish nationality became Belgian in 1830 after the Revolution. Serrure painted genre interior subjects in a familiar 18th and 19th Century manner, he apprenticed under the Dutch painter Braekeleer and soon became known for his interior Dutch everyday life scenes generally among the wealthier classes. His depictions display a calm collected emotion of the scene, he exhibited in 1861 in Antwerp he also exhibited in Brussels and London, his works presented themselves as a charming event of quietude. He was a very private individual whose biography is somewhat obscure, however he died in Brussels where a large contingent of painters chose to live and was known well enough in those circles of artists. This painting is oil on mahogany panel, which in itself is a wealthy painter's board and consequently this picture would have been sold to a very well to do client, the subject shows a comfortably attired lady examining a broach or miniature, it is a prime example of the leisured classes pastime. The painting is signed and dates between 1890 and 1903.