André Brasilier was born in Saumur, France. Growing up from an artistic family, Brasilier became fascinated with painting at a young age. At 20, he enrolled in the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris, where he received a scholarship for his outstanding work. He also won the Grand Prix de Rome at age 23, continuing his studies at the Villa Medici. He met Chantal during one occasion in the gardens of Villa Medici, the woman who would then become his life-long muse and provided endless source of inspiration. In an artistic career spanning for more than seven decades, Brasilier became one of France’s most important artists, and his work has been shown in numerous major exhibitions and solo retrospective exhibitions around the world, including the Château de Chenonceau in the Loire Valley (1980), Musée Picasso-Château Grimaldi on the French Riviera (1988), the State Hermitage Museum in Russia (2005), and the Museum Haus Ludwig für Kunstausstellungen Saarlois in Germany (2007).Brasilier’s painting style was influenced by expressionism, which he infused with his own personality and feelings. He often drew inspiration from nature, using soft, layered watercolour-like washes to depict nature, women, music, and horses. Supported by a romantic yet simple ambience, he conveys a calm and tranquil inner world, bringing the viewer into an impression or emotion that could be easily forgotten. At the same t.mes , Brasilier believed that his work was inspired by the writing of François Cheng, a Chinese-born French member of the Académie française. Cheng advocated the Daoist idea that ‘one can be upright if one has no selfish desires,’ which de-emphasised the power of form and encouraged guiding people to find the spirituality of objects. These ideas profoundly influenced Brasilier’s artistic career. Chantal has not posed for the painting, and she is not depicted in detail; the expression on her face is even somewhat masked. Brasilier does not pursue narrative or resemblance of real life; instead, he uses poetic colours, cropped compositions, and concise figures to bring the viewer into a surreal world.

In addition to his sense of nature, Brasilier’s portraits and figure paintings demonstrate his keen sensitivity to life. He once said, “Figure painting is a standard in which you can judge an artist’s importance.” Brasilier was always accompanied by his wife Chantal when he painted, which helped him to see many subtle details in the world. Her beautiful face and elegant movements when arranging flowers often expressed a new way of artistic dynamism. Grand bouquet devant la mer (Lot 1013) is an important work for Brasilier, demonstrating his astute sense of life in his portrait and figure paintings. This work brings together all of his favourite genres—portraiture, landscape, and still-life flowers—and it is certainly one of his best paintings of Chantal. His composition and colour palette are dominated by succinct blue and white tones; the calm seas and tranquil skies, the rippling waves and the line of sailboats, the delicate vase and Chantal’s tasteful dress all come together in a harmony. Brasilier used graceful brushwork and fluid colours to transcend the expressiveness of oil painting, layering washes of pigment with the freedom and charm of watercolour. This technique gives the work a surreal quality, which is a bit reminiscent of the colourful washed blocks in Mark Rothko’s abstract expressionist paintings. In the soft light, white and pink lilies sway in the breeze, evoking so much vitality in the air. In Western culture, lilies are symbols of purity, and Brasilier infused his eternal love for Chantal into these flowers, suggesting she is just as elegant and pure as these lilies. Grand bouquet devant la mer shows André Brasilier’s true feelings about life, offering a moving perspective on love and harmony.

安德烈·布拉吉利出生於法國米索爾，自幼在父母的創作氛圍中對繪畫產生強烈興趣，並於20歲時順利進入巴黎國立高等美術學院學習，不僅以卓越的藝術表現力獲得學校資助，更在23歲便贏得畫壇羅馬大獎，赴羅馬美第奇公館進一步深造，更在其花園中邂逅他一生唯一的繆斯女神香黛爾，自此便是布拉吉利連續不斷的靈感源泉。在七十多年的創作歷程中，布拉吉利的作品不斷展出於世界各地的大型展覽與舉辦個人回顧展，包括法國雪農梭城堡（1980年）、蔚藍海岸昂蒂布市的畢卡索美術館（1988年）、俄羅斯冬宮（2005年），以及德國豪斯路德維希美術館（2007年）等等，成為當下法國最受矚目的重要藝術家之一。布拉吉利的繪畫風格受到表現主義的影響，並在其中註入個人性情與情感意象，他常常從生活中的大自然中汲取靈感，用如水彩般柔和和渲染的色彩描繪大自然、女人、音樂、馬匹的意象等等，並輔以浪漫而淳樸的畫面氛圍，傳達出淡然恬靜的內在心境，將觀者的目光引向當下被忽略、稍縱即逝的印象或情中。與此同時，布拉吉利認爲，他的創作亦受到法蘭西學院院士暨華裔法籍漢語文學家程抱一的文學作品啓發。程抱一主張東方「無欲則剛」的道家思想——不强調形式上的力量，通過引導令人體會到事物的精神性。這觀念深深影響了布拉吉利的藝術創作生涯，畫中的香黛爾沒有刻意的身姿，亦無精緻的外表，甚至被覆蓋了面部的情感表現，他開始不刻意追求物象的情節與畫面的逼真，而是用富有詩意的色彩、裁切式構圖和概括的形象將觀者帶往超現實般的畫面情境中，從而進入其主導的生活中。

除了對大自然的感知，布拉吉利在人物肖像畫中展現出自身對生活的敏銳感受力，他曾說：「人物畫是能夠判斷藝術家重要性的一項標準。」愛妻香黛爾每時每刻陪伴著布拉吉利作畫，亦讓藝術家看透了世界裡許多細微事情。從她高貴的插花舉動或者臉龐的美麗中都表現出一種新意、一種動態。本作《海邊的花束》（拍品編號 1013）是布拉吉利一件極富代表性之佳作，可見布拉吉利在人物肖像畫中展現出自身對生活的敏銳感受力。此作匯聚了所有藝術家繪畫的經典元素，集人物肖像、風景與花卉於一身，絕對是描繪香黛爾作品中的一件上乘之作。布拉吉利用畫筆記錄香黛爾擺弄花束，曼妙姿態的一瞬間，他的構圖和色彩以簡約的藍色與白色調為主：從寧靜的汪洋、靜謐的天空、細碎的漣漪、一艘艘行駛中的帆船、玲瓏別緻的花瓶與香黛爾一身飄逸的連身裙，帶出一種協調的和諧美。布拉吉利用輕盈的筆觸和流淌色彩跨越了油畫媒介的表現力，渲染出水彩般的自由韻致，從而使作品超越了真實，富有馬克・羅斯科抽象表現主義朦朧豔彩渲染的元素。柔和的光線中，白色與粉色百合花在微風中輕輕搖曳，創造出一種動態和生命力。在西方，百合花一直是作為聖潔的象徵，布拉吉利將他對香黛爾永恆之愛融入其中，似乎讚美她像百合花一樣清麗脫俗、純潔無暇。讓觀者一同見證藝術家對生命的真切感受，為世人留下愛情與和諧的視角，感動人心。