Delphin Enjolras (1857-1945)
A game of cards
The Geometry of Solitude
Enjolras constructs a visual silence, a moment suspended in controlled luminescence. The interplay of light and shadow defines architectural planes within the domestic sphere, creating a deliberate rhythm of focus and oblivion. This is not mere observation; it is an engineered quietude.
Emerging from the fin-de-siècle, Enjolras avoids the facile anxieties of his peers. His work stands as a testament to an earlier, more robust aesthetic, a resistance to the emerging clamor of the modern. A quiet assertion of enduring form.
Why it matters: In a market awash with ephemeral "Noise"—the transient, the derivative, the aggressively loud—Enjolras offers "Granite". This is an undervalued segment, a work of unique structural integrity that transcends fleeting trends. True arbitrage lies not in chasing the ephemeral, but in acquiring the foundational.
Details:
oil on canvas
unframed: 60 x 73 cm.; 23⅝ x 28¾ in.
signed lower left: D Enjolras
Previously held in a private collection, acquired via Christie's, 2015.
Market Context:
Auction: Sotheby's
Date: 4 December 2025
Estimate: 10,000 GBP