Edmond Aman-Jean

Edmond Aman-Jean painted dreamy, pale portraits of women in soft pastel colours, often with a peacock, flowers or a garden behind them. He was a Symbolist, and his figures seem lost in thought, with a quiet, decorative quality influenced by Japanese art and the Pre-Raphaelites.

Born near Paris, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, where he shared a studio with Georges Seurat, who drew his portrait. A travelling scholarship took him to Italy in 1886. He later painted murals, including for the Sorbonne, co-founded the Salon des Tuileries in 1923 and taught students from Europe and America.

His Portrait of Miss Ella Carmichael of 1906 shows his elegant portrait style. Look at the soft, powdery colour and the gentle outlines that make his figures seem to float.