PauletteGautier.com

OIL Painting

Paulette Gautier specializes in faithfully recreating (and sometimes slightly reinterpreting) 19th-century French academic and Victorian neoclassical masterpieces, especially those by Bouguereau, Godward, Leighton, Alma-Tadema, etc. Her work is done entirely by hand in traditional oil techniques and is remarkably close to the originals in both style and technical execution.

So the paintings you’ve been showing are all her modern oil recreations of famous 19th-century salon pieces, which explains why they look so convincingly “period” while being contemporary works.

“Pasturer”

Private Collection

Oil on Board, 2017

A tranquil 19th-century-style landscape bathed in warm evening light, featuring a mirror-calm pond reflecting ancient trees and a delicate stone bridge, rendered with luminous classical-realist detail and subtle atmospheric perspective.

“The Young Dreamer”

Oil on Board, 2018

An intimate portrait of childhood wonder: a young boy in period attire gazing thoughtfully into soft Rembrandt-esque light, capturing innocence and quiet introspection through masterful chiaroscuro and delicate brushwork.

Oil on canvas • 36 × 48 in • 2024

Oil on Board, 2018

A luminous neoclassical scene of divine tenderness: Psyche, draped in flowing white and royal purple, receives the secret counsel of Cupid’s winged messengers amid an enchanted garden, rendered with exquisite classical-realist precision, velvety textures, and ethereal golden-hour light.

A three-quarter profile portrait of a young woman with dark hair tied back under a bright pink/mauve headscarf. She wears large gold hoop earrings and a golden-yellow shawl with pink floral embroidery over a white chemise. Her expression is serene and slightly melancholic. The background is a soft, dark olive-green, typical of academic portraiture from the late 19th or early 20th century. The style and costume suggest a Romantic or Orientalist theme—possibly a “gitana” (gypsy) or Mediterranean beauty. Artists who painted similar subjects include Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, or John Singer Sargent in his earlier period.

The image shows a classical oil painting-style portrait of a young woman with long, flowing auburn/reddish-brown hair. She is depicted in a three-quarter view, gracefully playing a lute (a pear-shaped stringed instrument popular in the Renaissance and Baroque periods).

She wears an elegant, ancient Greek/Roman-inspired deep red draped gown (like a chiton or toga) that falls in soft, realistic folds, with one shoulder partially exposed. The fabric is richly textured and catches the light dramatically. Her pose is dynamic yet serene—she’s seated or leaning slightly, with the lute held high across her body.

The background is a muted classical interior with cool blue-green walls, a column, and a glimpse of landscape through an opening, giving a timeless, almost mythological atmosphere (reminiscent of artists like John William Godward or other late 19th-century neoclassical/academic painters).

The overall mood is romantic, contemplative, and highly idealized, with soft lighting and meticulous attention to the textures of skin, fabric, and hair. It has a strong Pre-Raphaelite or Victorian neoclassical vibe.