Antoine-Auguste Thivet, son of a painter, trained at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, notably in Jean-Léon Gérôme's studio. He exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1877 onwards and became a member of the Société des Artistes Français. He painted a variety of subjects, including Orientalist scenes, portraits (notably that of Jeanne Rozerot) and genre scenes.
The painting we are presenting here was shown at the 1893 Salon, listed as number 1692 in the official catalog (although it is not reproduced). It depicts a veiled woman, bare-chested, staring intently at the viewer, holding a skull in one hand and pointing to an open book with the other. The work perfectly illustrates the artist's taste for the female figure, treated here in an allegorical manner. The expressiveness of the painting and the virtual absence of decoration focus the viewer's gaze on the highly symbolist subject of predestination and death.
Minor losses to the paint layer and a small indentation at the top of the canvas (see photos).
