Biography

(b Paris, 1840; d Paris, 1902) French Painter. A native of Paris, Vibert first studied with his maternal grandfather, the engraver Jean-Pierre- Marie Jazet. He entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1857 at the age of sixteen and by 1864 had already won a medal at the Salon . A multi-talented figure, Vibert was also a published author, writing for Century Magazine as well as plays for the Palais Royale, Variétés and the Vaudeville. In 1866, the young Vibert exhibited at the Salon a work done in collaboration with the Spanish-born artist Edouardo Zamacois, Entrance of the Toreadors . Vibert had met the Spanish artist in 1860 and perhaps under his influence traveled several times to Spain. From that point on the artist became a genre painter. He became a master of the small-scale amusing anecdotal scenes, which had wide appeal among the sophisticated art patrons of Paris. In addition to his art, Vibert had a long and active association with the stage and all aspects of theatrical life in Paris. The influence of the theatre upon his painting is evident throughout his oeuvre, and the narrative is always essential to the artistic. (Credit: Christie’s, New York, 19th Century European Art and Orientalist Art, October 24, 2007, lot 127)