Suiveur de Félix Ziem - Ecole française (XIX), Follower of - Venise - Vue du Palais des Doges

French School (Late 19th - Early 20th Century) — The Doge's Palace in Venice — Oil on cardboard
Artist: French School / follower of Félix Ziem

Delicate and luminous sketch representing the seafront of Venice from the lagoon. The composition highlights the characteristic pinkish façade of the Doge's Palace, juxtaposed with the white structure of the Prigioni Nuove (the prisons), while a traditional sailboat moves away at the center. The artist uses here a subtle palette, dominated by an opalescent blue-gray sky and water reflections of great softness. The painting technique, made of rapid brushstrokes and textured impastos, is typical of plein air exercises of the period. The back of the cardboard faintly reveals an old fusain outline, characteristic of workshop cardboard plates of the era.

Historical Context

This study en plein air is a direct testimony of the methods of painters of the French School of the impressionist and post-impressionist period, working in the tradition of Félix Ziem. To capture the variations of Venetian atmosphere, artists used small rigid boards bought from Parisian color dealers. These miniatures, painted quickly outdoors, fixed the mood and the light of a precise moment of the day. Designed as intimate unsigned working tools, these pochades are particularly prized by modern collectors for the freedom and modernity of their brushwork.

Technical sheet of the lot :

• Era: Late 19th century — Early 20th century (circa 1890-1910)
• Medium: Oil on rigid period cardboard
• Condition: Good overall, sound paint layer, a few tiny stains due to age.
• Signature: Not signed (atelier sketch / study on the motif)
• Dimensions of the work alone: 10 x 17 cm
• Dimensions with frame: 16 x 23 cm
• Frame: Beautiful contemporary frame in an antique style, with a red and gold patina perfectly highlighting the softness of the blue-gray and pink tones of the painting.
• Peculiarity: Old fusain tracing visible on the back of the cardboard.

Careful shipment and tracking.