Les Boules de Neige (Snowballs) - Paul Berthon

A refined Art Nouveau colour lithograph by Paul Berthon, featuring a woman amongst flowering snowball bushes in a muted, decorative style.

Paul Berthon was a student of Eugène Grasset, and this influence is evident in his approach to decorative composition. Les Boules de Neige, or Snowballs, displays the characteristic flat planes of colour and strong, rhythmic outlines associated with the Art Nouveau movement at the turn of the twentieth century. The work features a young woman with auburn hair, positioned amongst flowering snowball bushes. Her expression is calm, and her posture is relaxed as she reaches towards the blooms. Berthon utilised the lithographic process to achieve a soft, muted palette. The colours are restrained, relying on variations of cream, pale yellow, and earthy greens to create a sense of harmony. The background is simplified, suggesting a distant landscape without providing excessive detail, which keeps the focus on the figure and the botanical elements. The composition is framed by a distinct border, a common feature in Berthon's posters and prints, which helps to contain the scene within a decorative boundary. This print reflects the period's interest in the synthesis of nature and design. The floral forms are stylised rather than strictly botanical, serving as a decorative motif that complements the figure. The work was produced by Imprimerie Chaix in Paris, a firm known for its high-quality printing of posters and fine art editions during this era. The balance between the organic shapes of the flowers and the linear quality of the figure demonstrates Berthon's ability to integrate human subjects into a decorative scheme. It is a representative example of French graphic art from the Belle Époque, capturing a quiet, atmospheric moment through a refined aesthetic lens.