The Cardinal and the Spilt Milk

Marcel was the son of François Brunery (1849-1926), who along with Georges Croegaert (1848-1923) innovated a particular style of painting in France during the late nineteenth century. This was the depiction of cardinals and other members of the clergy enjoying those temporal delights their calling allowed them – fine foods and champagne, served to them in elegant settings.

The attention paid by these artists to the settings in which they placed their narratives was incredibly detailed. The elder Brunery was one of the first artists to be allowed to paint inside the Palace of Versailles and he accurately reproduced every aspect of the rooms he painted – the fine tapestries and carpets, the furniture, the silver – everything was perfect.

Marcel Brunery was trained by his father and chose to paint in the same style, paying great attention to detail and vivid colouring. He was born in the late 1880’s and continued to paint into the middle years of the present century, achieving a particular success in 1935 at the Salon des Independants.