Jean Laborie (1912-?) - Chaume à Trepsat, Cantal

1. TECHNICAL DATA

Author: Jean Laborie (1912-?)
Title / subject: Rural landscape in Trepsat, Cantal
Chronology: 1959
School: French
Style: Post-impressionist landscape painting / French mid-20th century painting
Technique: Oil on canvas
Dimensions of the work: 54 × 65 cm
Dimensions with frame: 67 × 78 cm
Orientation: Horizontal
Signature: Signed “J. Laborie” in the lower left corner
Inscriptions: Retains on the reverse an old handwritten label with location and date
Conservation status: Generally good, with signs of age and use compatible with its chronology. See the photographs carefully, which are part of the description.
Frame: Presented with a frame

2. DESCRIPTION

Interesting oil on canvas by painter Jean Laborie (1912-?), dated 1959, depicting a rural landscape from the French region of Cantal.

The composition shows a group of peasant buildings topped by a distinctive structure with a markedly slanted roof, surrounded by clear-cut trees and an open landscape that fades toward the horizon.

The work exhibits a particularly painterly execution, built with broad, impastoed, highly visible brushstrokes. Laborie combines a solid compositional structure with a free brushwork that fragments the surfaces and gives notable plastic richness to the walls, trees, roads, and sky.

The color palette is organized around ochres, earth tones, grayish greens, blues, and whites, generating a cold, bright luminosity typical of central France landscapes. The contrast between the rural, light-toned architecture and the stark verticals of the trees is especially apt.

3. STYLISTIC AND COMPOSITIONAL ANALYSIS

The painting belongs to the French post-impressionist landscape tradition of the mid-20th century.

The artist does not seek a minute or photographic depiction of the place, but an interpretation constructed essentially through color and matter. The brushstrokes retain their autonomy and are clearly visible on the canvas, especially on the roofs, walls, and vegetation.

The composition centers around the large building on the right, while a succession of vertical trees guides the gaze to the background. The foreground path introduces depth and creates a diagonal that offsets the pronounced verticality of the trunks.

The pictorial matter presents zones of generous application and overlapping brushstrokes, giving the whole a very attractive physical presence.

4. IDENTIFICATION OF THE PLACE AND REVERSE INSCRIPTION

The work preserves an interesting old handwritten label on the reverse that allows identifying both the depicted place and the execution date.

The inscription reads:

“Chaume à Trepsat – 1959
Cne de Giou de Mamou – Cantal”

It can be translated approximately as:

“House / structure with thatched roof in Trepsat – 1959
Municipality of Giou-de-Mamou – Cantal.”

Therefore, the scene corresponds to Trepsat, a locality belonging to the French municipality of Giou-de-Mamou, in the Cantal department.

This inscription constitutes an important documentary element, as it directly relates the painting to the place depicted and also provides a precise dating: 1959.

5. AUTHENTICITY AND SIGNATURE

The work is signed in the lower left corner “J. Laborie,” corresponding to Jean Laborie (1912-?).

The signature is integrated into the pictorial layer and is clearly visible in the photographs.

The presence of the historical reverse inscription, with title, geographic location, and date, also provides supplementary documentary information of particular interest for identifying the work.

6. OTHER INTERESTING DETAILS

This is a painting that stands out for its direct connection to the French rural landscape.

The exact location provided by the reverse label adds documentary value and helps understand the work not only as a generic landscape but as a specific representation made in Trepsat, in the Cantal region, in 1959.

The painting maintains a balanced combination between natural description and post-impressionist freedom, with rich pictorial matter and spontaneous brushwork that is especially evident in the detail photographs.

7. SHIPPING AND CONDITIONS

The work is delivered with the frame shown in the photographs.

The photographs form an integral part of the description and allow detailed assessment of the condition of both the work and the frame.

Shipping will be carried out by a specialized professional company, with maximum-protection packaging, a custom-made box, and foam materials to guarantee proper protection during transport.

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