European school (XIX) - Scena Pastorale con Pecora e Capra

• Subject: Bucolic / pastoral scene with animals (sheep and goat)
• Period: Late 19th century – Early 20th century
• School: North European (English / Franco-Belgian) with strong Dutch influence
• Technique: Oil on panel
• Signature: Signed bottom right 'More' (artist unknown?)
• Frame dimensions: 31x36 cm
• Panel dimensions: 12x17 cm

Splendid and refined antique oil painting on panel, testimony to the North European animal and landscape school straddling the 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the foreground a crouching sheep near two fence posts and a finely depicted bi-color goat stand out. The composition is heavily indebted to the Dutch Golden Age tradition (in the wake of masters like Paulus Potter), evident in the choice of a very low horizon that leaves ample space for a cloudy, somber sky full of atmosphere, rendered with a velvety, dynamic brushwork of strong visual impact.
The artist's hand shows notable technical skill, especially in the realism with which the animals’ coats have been painted and in the delicate plays of natural light striking the wool of the sheep.
In the bottom right corner, above the trunk of a felled tree, the author's signature 'More' is clearly visible.

The painting is enhanced by an important period gilded frame. The mount features lavish relief floral scrolls at the four corners and a refined geometric lattice texture in the central band.

The back of the panel is intact and solid, enclosed in its original supportive frame reinforced at the corners. On the panel is present an old paper inventory or gallery/auction transfer tag with the number handwritten. The work also has a cord and is ready to be hung.

The work is sold in the condition visible in the photos. It shows the usual signs of aging on the frame and the back. No color flaking is reported on the surface, which remains vivid and stable despite the craquelure typical of a work from its period.