Delphin Enjolras (French painter) 1857 - 1945
Delphin Enjolras was born at Coucouron in the Ardèche on 13th May 1857 of Spanish descent. He studied in Paris and worked there and in the South of France, painting in oils and pastels. As Beraud and de Schryver recorded fashionable ‘fin de siècle’ Paris, the Champs Elysee and the Bois de Boulogne, Enjolras revealed intimate boudoir scenes of Parisian society beauties in the early years of the 20th century. He became renowned for his portrayal of women preparing for an evening’s entertainment, intimate moments lit by electric light as they dress in their shimmering silks. These same women are sometimes portrayed dining by moonlight, perhaps on a terrace overlooking a lake in some fashionable spa. It was in the portrayal of women that Enjolras excelled, in his flirtation with Orientalism it was again women that he depicted, women of the harem reposing in exotic surroundings suffused with incense. Enjolras was a highly successful artist, a regular exhibitor at the Salon of the Societaire des Artistes Français, to which he was elected a member in 1901. His works can be found in museums in: Avignon and Puy.
