Paul César HELLEU: The half-open door, signed heliogravure

Paul-César Helleu : (1859-1927) is a french painter and engraver, who was a student of Jean-Léon Gérôme. He was a close friend of James Abbott McNeill Whistler, John Singer Sargent, and Claude Monet. At the end of the 1880's, he steps in the parisian society, and becomes a trendy portraitist. The "Helleu style" is characterized by elegance et refinement, feminine grace, and was very successful in Paris, London, as well as in New York, where he goes starting from 1902. He was commissioned to decorate the ceiling of Grand Central Terminal hall, with the theme of Zodiac signs: a starry vault, crossed by a zodiac with gold signs, and a silver milky way. His works can be found at the Musée des Beaux Arts de Nantes (France), Nykytaiteen museo Kiasma (Finland), Indianapolis Museum of Art (The USA), Musée d'Art moderne et contemporain de Strasbourg (France), Fondation Bemberg (France), Wichita Art Museum (The USA), Tate Collection (Royaume Uni), Auckland Art Gallery (Australia), Musée Bonnat (France), Musée des Beaux Arts, Rouen (France)...