Place du Châtelet, Winter

A charming winter cityscape, looking east by northeast across the Place du Châtelet, with the majestic façade of the Théâtre du Châtelet in the background. The period reflected is likely circa 1900–1920, as trams were only introduced to Paris in the 1890s, and quickly rendered obsolete by the rapidly expanding subway. The scene is unmistakably Cortèsesque, with the bustling representation of Parisian streets blanketed in snow, warm and inviting lights, and the foregrounding of two figures, a well-dressed woman and a young child.

Only two paintings by de Severac are known to us — this one, and another cityscape sold at Bonhams, London, in 2007 (12 June, Lot 56) of the Rue St Denis. This is somewhat surprising, given the evident skill of the two paintings, and one has to wonder whether Anatol de Severac was a pseudonym for an artist who has otherwise left a greater legacy. This was not uncommon at this period — painters were often contracted to a single gallery, and would use pseudonyms to sell their paintings independently. For instance, the prolific Eugène Galien-Laloue (1854–1941) used at least six different pseudonyms to sell his paintings.