Louis Icart

[3] His aunt, who was impressed by his talent during a visit, brought him to Paris in 1907,[4] where he dedicated himself to painting, drawing and the production of numerous etchings.

[5] In 1914 he met the eighteen-year-old "beautiful blonde"[5] Fanny Volmers, an employee of the Paquin fashion house,[3] whom he married later and who was the model for many of his works.

[5] In the late 1920s, Icart was very successful both artistically and financially with his publications and his work for large fashion and design studios.

In 1932 Icart showed in the New York Metropolitan Galleries a collection of paintings entitled Les Visions Blanches, which received little attention, however, because he did not personally accompany the exhibition.

With L’Exode, he created a series of works that document the horrors of the occupation of France in World War II from 1940 onwards.

[2] Icart's style of painting was based on the French masters of the 18th century, such as Jean-Antoine Watteau, François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard.

[4] His drawings were influenced by Edgar Degas and Claude Monet; his rare watercolors bore features of the symbolists Odilon Redon and Gustave Moreau.

In his pictures, beautiful courtesans frolicked on thick pillows with facial expressions full of passion, dismay or surprise.