Marie Octavie Sturel Paigné – The Painter of Flowers
Marie Octavie (Octavia) Sturel Paigné was born on May 7, 1819, in the city of Metz, in northeastern France. Her parents were Jacques Paigné, a former captain in the Imperial Guard, and Catherine Meunier. Orphaned at an early age, Marie was sent at the age of 16 to the studio of Laurent-Charles Maréchal. Maréchal led the artistic circle around the school in Metz, where painting with oils and pastels, drawing, engraving, stained glass and even sculpture were practiced. The circle of artists, including Louis-Théodore Devilly, drew inspiration from the paintings of Delacroix, which depicted romantic landscapes and exotic themes with Oriental figures and historical subjects. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870, followed by the annexation of Metz, brought this artistic circle to an end.
Maréchal returned to working with pastels, and his pupil followed the example of her teacher. Marie successively exhibited her pastel paintings The Girl with the Rosary, The Morning Glory Garland and The Ecstasy of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. Again following her teacher’s advice, Marie abandoned portrait and figure painting and devoted herself entirely to still-life compositions. Soon, her flowers and fruits, created in pastel, achieved an extraordinary degree of realism and perfection. Marie’s first paintings impressed everyone, and her works were exhibited alongside those of some of the greatest artists at the Paris Salon between 1844 and 1853. In 1852, two of Marie’s flower paintings were exhibited at the Société de l’Union des Arts. One depicted a bouquet of hollyhocks, while the other showed a bouquet of peonies and irises. Both paintings generated great enthusiasm among art lovers and artists. The flower bouquets were so realistic and admired that they were exhibited again at the Salon in 1853. An art critic expressed his opinion in the first article devoted to the exhibition, writing: “The honor goes to two women,” one of whom was Mrs. Sturel Paigné. Empress Eugénie herself, who visited the exhibition, was captivated by Marie’s flowers and decided to acquire her “bouquets” for her room at the Palace of Saint-Cloud, located in Île-de-France, the region surrounding Paris. The works were acquired for the imperial collection after the 1853 Salon, together with another pastel by Marie Octavie Sturel Paigné.
Marie’s professional success was accompanied by personal happiness. The artist, who had been married to Alexandre Sturel since 1845, was expecting her second child. Marie and Alexandre already had a daughter, but the artist wished for a boy. Her happiness did not last long. Three days after giving birth to her second child, Marie died in January 1854, at the age of 34.
The works Marie Octavie left behind number around 130 paintings and drawings.
