François BIRBAUM (1872-1947), 'Nature morte aux fleurs', pastel on panel, signed lower right. H. 42 x 35 cm Note: Originally from Fribourg, François Birbaum left at an early age for Russia, where he worked as a draughtsman at the Imperial Manufactory in St Petersburg. It was in Russia that he met his wife, Marguerite Duperthuis from the canton of Vaud, who was also a talented painter. Driven out of Russia by the Bolshevist revolution, the two artists returned to Switzerland, settled in Aigle and worked tirelessly, setting up their easels on the Rhone plain, painting the mountains, the plain and flowers, exhibiting regularly and winning great acclaim from the local public. He died at the age of 75 after several months of illness on 17 October 1947.