Henri Auguste César Serrur, a French classicist painter, gained fame for his historical paintings, battle scenes, and portraits. A student of Jean-Baptiste Regnault at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1819 to 1850, earning awards for his work. 

His painting «Young Woman with a Mask» (1844) depicts a girl as a Pompadour-style shepherdess holding a Colombina mask, a symbol of the Venetian Carnival. Shown at the Société des Amis des Arts exhibition in Amiens as «Shepherdess in Pompadour Style» (catalog no. 271), it reflects Serrur’s fascination with theatrical and masquerade themes. 

In 1846, commissioned by the French government, he visited Venice, where he studied and copied works by Venetian masters, inspiring vibrant city-related pieces.

His paintings are housed in French museums, including Versailles, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille, the Musée de la Chartreuse in Douai, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rennes, and the Papal Palace in Avignon.