Anne Dewailly

Born in Roubaix in 1964, Anne Dewailly is a French painter specializing in portraits and genre scenes.
We are equally proud to represent her now that her talent has already won acclaim beyond our borders, whether in Europe, the United States, or the Middle East.

Although she has no formal training, her painting technique manages to evoke powerful emotions. Brush, rag, knife, fingers—the variety of media she uses is equally important. Her oil paintings are a sincere expression of her passion for the Dutch masters of the Golden Age, the Gulden/Gouden Eeuw.

She seeks to combine the realism of the tronie—in its original sense—with the idealism of artists such as Vermeer. Whether women, men, or children, when her models are not close friends or family, she encounters them unexpectedly; they are her true gallery.

As an admirer of Vermeer, the play of light and shadow is essential in Anne Dewailly’s work. Her mimetic work, enhanced by oil, always strives to find a balance between light sources.
The light speaks, and the subject’s silence is all the less oppressive for it. Varying in intensity, light and contours always diffuse, and the soul seems to fly away as the viewer’s gaze lingers. In fact, the subject emits as much as it receives, bathed in a halo, playing the role of Charon the psychopomp. The rendering of the skin detaches them from this world. For Anne, faces and bodies must be bathed in a soft, tranquil light that exalts their model, much more so than the pose or the gaze.