Rating and value of paintings by Émile Aubry

If you own a work by or based on the artist Émile Aubry and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will be happy to advise you.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its current market value.

Then, if you want to sell your work, we'll point you in the right direction to get the best possible price for it.

Artist's rating and value

Émile Aubry is a French figurative artist who worked in France and Algeria, and is enjoying great success on the art market today.

Present in a number of museums, but mainly in private homes, his Orientalist paintings are highly prized by collectors, selling for between €40 and €33,800 at auction - a considerable difference, but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to the artist's works.

His painting Après-midi, dating from 1909, sold for €33,800, whereas its estimate was between €27,000 and €36,000. 

Order of value from the most basic to the most prestigious

Artist's style and technique

It is precisely in this combination of classicism and modernism that Émile Aubry developed a singular style, deeply rooted in academic traditions yet open to the influences of his time.

Trained to the highest standards at the Beaux-Arts, Aubry's technical mastery is evident in his monumental compositions. His meticulous, precise brushstrokes are distinguished by a work on modeling that gives his figures a sculptural presence.

His murals, notably for public buildings, reflect a search for balance and harmony, where forms are organized in rigorous, almost architectural compositions.

In his work, color is never too intense or too pigmented; it's tempered, subtle, at the service of an atmosphere that's both soothing and solemn. 

In his practice, Aubry follows a tradition inherited from Puvis de Chavannes and French muralists, while incorporating a stylization of form reminiscent of Art Deco.

In the manner of his contemporaries Jean Dupas or Paul-Albert Laurens, he explores a refined aesthetic, where firm, precise lines structure space.

And yet, he retains a humanity in his subjects, often imbued with a discreet lyricism and a particular attention to faces and gestures, which we find in his major public commissions.

This skilful blend of tradition and modernity gives his work a timeless scope, oscillating between classicism and stylistic renewal.

Émile Aubry's career  

Émile Aubry was born in 1880 in Algiers, then a French colonial territory, against the backdrop of France's artistic effervescence. Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he imbibed the rigorous teachings of the academic tradition, while cultivating a sensibility specific to his era.

Winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1907, Aubry stayed at the Villa Medici, where he immersed himself in the study of the Renaissance masters, whose influence would have a lasting impact on his career.

An all-round artist, he distinguished himself as much for his easel paintings as for his monumental works for civil and religious buildings, which testify to his ability to combine classicism and modernity. 

Back in France, he joined the muralist movement, creating frescoes for emblematic sites such as the Sorbonne and churches in the Paris region.

Attached to his Mediterranean origins, he also devoted part of his work to scenes inspired by the light and landscapes of North Africa. Aubry lived through the tumult of the twentieth century without ever renouncing his attachment to humanist values and the quest for art that serves the community.

He died in 1964, leaving behind him a body of work marked by an ideal of harmony and beauty, combining the rigor of the academicians with the elegance of the great decorators of his time.

Focus on Peace and Work, Émile Aubry.

La Paix et le Travail, created by Émile Aubry for the amphitheatre of the Faculty of Law in Paris, is a monumental painting expressing collective symbolism through a classically rigorous composition.

The arrangement of the figures is based on controlled symmetry: on the left, Peace, clad in flowing drapery, seems to embody regained serenity, while on the right, Work, solidly anchored, evokes collective effort and reconstruction. 

The dominant tones, oscillating between shades of deep blue and luminous beige, create a visual harmony that immediately grabs attention without going overboard.

The drapery, with its almost sculptural refinement, reflects a technical mastery inherited from classical frescoes, while the precise modeling of the faces is in keeping with an academic tradition, seeking to magnify the human ideal.

The details, from the robust hands to the serious gazes, reinforce the allegorical reading, combining humanity and abstraction. 

Here, Aubry follows in the footsteps of academic artists, where monumental painting becomes a tool for transmitting social and moral values.

However, far from limiting himself to an exercise in formal virtuosity, he anchors his work in the preoccupations of the post-war period, where the quest for stability and order is echoed in this solemn yet soothing representation.

Aubry's art remains a quest for balance, reflecting a vision of man that is both idealized and deeply rooted in his time.

Émile Aubry's stylistic influences

Émile Aubry is part of an artistic tradition that combines classical and academic influences with the aesthetic concerns of his time.

Heir to neoclassical traditions, he takes from David and Ingres his attachment to clear line and balanced composition, where each element is integrated into a rigorous structure. However, Aubry does not stop at a pure celebration of the past.

His works also bear the imprint of 19th-century historicism, blending Greco-Roman inspirations with a more modern sensibility, notably in his attention to texture and light.  

Compared to artists like Puvis de Chavannes, Aubry shares a propensity for monumentality and a quest for serenity in his compositions, but where Puvis favors an almost ethereal approach, Aubry infuses his figures with a more marked carnal density, sometimes recalling the intensity of Italian Renaissance frescoes.

He also drew on the lessons of the masters of the previous century, such as Delacroixby incorporating a subtly contrasting palette that, without renouncing idealization, evokes a certain vibrancy. 

In his work, the academic line is not a straitjacket but a framework for the expression of universal ideas, enriched by a variety of influences.

This stylistic synthesis places Aubry at the crossroads between tradition and modernity, offering a body of work deeply rooted in history, while at the same time responding to the humanist and social aspirations of his time.

Émile Aubry's imprint on his period

Émile Aubry was part of a period when the tensions between tradition and modernity were redefining the contours of monumental art.

His imprint, though discreet compared to that of the avant-gardes of his time, is evident in his ability to revitalize academic muralism while adapting it to the aspirations of a society in search of accessible, unifying art.

Through his frescoes, which he created for prestigious institutions such as the Sorbonne and churches, Aubry helped reaffirm the role of public art in embellishing common spaces, reminding us of the importance of a dialogue between classical culture and contemporary concerns. 

His style, imbued with a classical mastery inherited from his academic training, offers an alternative to the radical breaks advocated by avant-garde movements, proposing a return to more solemn, narrative forms of expression.

In a France marked by the political and social upheavals of the first half of the 20th century, Aubry's work stands out for its ability to establish continuity with the past, while reflecting modern sensibilities.

This positioning, halfway between tradition and innovation, helped shape a segment of French monumental art of its time, where the search for aesthetic balance took on its full meaning.

His signature

Not all Émile Aubry's works are signed.

Although there are variations, here is a first example of its signature:

Appraising your property

If you happen to own a painting by Émile Aubry or one based on the artist, don't hesitate to ask for a free estimate by filling in our form on our website.

A member of our team of experts and chartered auctioneers will contact you promptly to give you an estimate of the value of your work, and will ensure that you receive all the relevant information about it.

If you're thinking of selling your work of art, our specialists can also help you find alternatives to sell it at the best possible price, taking into account the market's inclinations and specificities.