French School (XX) - Paysage de Rivière

FRENCH SCHOOL
DATED 1926

RIVER BANK LANDSCAPE AT THE END OF SUMMER

Landscape painted outdoors, rich material and impasto brushwork
Oil on cardboard
19 × 24 cm
34 × 38 cm with frame

• School: French

• Artist: Signature lower right, partially legible, awaiting final identification

• Chronology: Precisely dated August 21, 1926

• Title: Landscape of the riverbank at the end of summer

• Catalog subtitle: River view with rocky shore and shaded vegetation

• Technique: Oil on cardboard

• Support: Cardboard for artistic painting with Parisian trade mark on the back

• Dimensions of the work: 19 × 24 cm

• Total dimensions with frame: 34 × 38 cm

• Signature: Signed bottom right; partially legible reading

• Inscription: Dated “21-8-26” in the bottom right corner

• Reverse: Oval stamp “Fournitures pour Artistes / Chalmel-Lallement / L. Joannot, Succr / 8, Boul. St-Martin, Paris”

• Old label: Later commercial note with price and dates “1866–1930”

• Frame: Carved, stuccoed and gilded wood, with a classic taste, with relief ornamentation

[The work will be professionally packaged to measure, with reinforced protection, double box and insured shipping.]

Interesting French school landscape, precisely dated August 21, 1926, executed on artist cardboard with Paris stamp on the back.

The work represents a riverside scene of intimate and atmospheric character. A dark stream runs horizontally through the composition, while a rocky shoreline descends from the foreground into dense vegetation, worked with small notes of light.

The artist constructs the scene with direct painting, abundant material and visible brushwork. It is not an idealized vision, but an impression taken from nature, where light, shore humidity and soil texture take absolute protagonism.

PAINTED LANDSCAPE OF NATURE

The choice of a small, light, manageable cardboard is especially coherent with outdoor execution.

The painting preserves a clear sense of immediate observation: the luminous reflection on water, irregular grass, light stones and masses of shadow are resolved with ease and notable attention to material and light variations.

The date inscribed, “21-8-26,” reinforces the seasonal reading of the work. The low, warm light illuminates the bank, while the river and vegetation remain in deep shadow.

COMPOSITION AND ATMOSPHERE

The composition is organized along an ascending diagonal starting from the rocky foreground and leading the gaze to the right, following the shore profile.

This journey creates an attractive contrast between the grays, ochers and whites of the land and the dark areas of water and vegetation. The river acts as a band of shadow, interrupted by a clear, silvery reflection that adds depth and serenity to the whole.

In the background, vegetation forms a dense screen against which small notes of white, yellow and green stand out. The work combines naturalistic observation with a clearly post-impressionist sensibility in color and material use.

TECHNIQUE, IMPASTO AND PAINTING MATERIALS

One of the great attractions of this painting lies in its surface.

Oil has been applied with thick, visible brushstrokes, especially on stones, grasses and earth areas. The artist deliberately leaves the physical brush marks, creating a vibrant and highly tactile surface.

Clear impastos build the mineral feel of the foreground, while the damp and shaded areas are resolved with deep greens, bluish blacks and dark earth tones.

This way of working relates to the French plein air landscape tradition of the early 20th century, heir to Impressionist freedom and the stronger material intensity developed by Post-Impressionism.

THE PARISIAN BACKSTAMP

The back preserves an oval stamp of special documentary interest belonging to a Parisian supplier of art materials:

“Fournitures pour Artistes / Chalmel-Lallement / L. Joannot, Succr / 8, Boul. St-Martin, Paris.”

This stamp identifies the establishment where the cardboard used by the artist was purchased or traded. It constitutes material evidence especially interesting for situating the support within the Parisian fine arts supplier network of its time.

The stamp does not by itself identify the painter nor prove absolutely that the work was executed in Paris. However, it establishes a direct documentary link between the support and the Parisian art market of its era.

SIGNATURE, DATE AND RESEARCH LINE

The work is clearly dated “21-8-26” in the bottom right corner.

Below the date lies a dark signature, partially affected by the paint texture and surface wear. Its reading cannot be established with absolute certainty from the photographs, so the work is prudently presented as French school painting, with a partially legible signature.

On the back there is a later commercial label with a price note and the dates “1866–1930.” These dates could correspond to biographical references used by a former owner, dealer or appraiser.

The piece therefore constitutes a particularly interesting work for future comparative investigations of signature, provenance and catalog raisonné.

STYLE, SCHOOL AND CONTEXT

The painting sits naturally within the French tradition of early 20th-century outdoor landscape.

Its quick execution, expressive use of impasto, observation of natural light and interest in ground matter relate it to a late Post-Impressionist sensibility.

The landscape ceases to be a simple setting and becomes a physical experience: the humidity of the water, the roughness of stones and the vegetation illuminated by small sun flashes are transferred directly to the painting surface.

CONDITION

The work shows an attractive condition consistent with its age.

The surface maintains rich painting material with the original impastos clearly visible. Slight rubbing, surface signs and small wear typical of aging, perceptible in detail photographs, are evident.

The cardboard remains mounted in its frame. It is recommended to carefully review all images, which are an essential part of the description.

THE FRAME

The work is presented in a carved, stuccoed and gilded wooden frame, with a classic taste, inner braided moldings, geometric decoration and relief ornaments at the corners.

Its presence is particularly decorative and gives this small landscape an elegant presentation with strong visual impact. The frame shows signs of use, rubbing, small losses and normal alterations due to age.

The frame is provided only as a courtesy or gift. No claims or complaints regarding its condition, age, fragility, faults, alterations, stability, fittings, gilding, polychromy or decorative adequacy will be accepted.

COLLECTOR VALUE

This piece brings together several elements of particular interest:

• French landscape dated precisely August 21, 1926

• Direct, vibrant execution, with significant impasto work

• Intimate format, typical of outdoor painting

• Artistic cardboard with original Parisian supplier stamp

• Partially legible signature, open to future investigation

• Old commercial label on the back

• Gilded frame with decorative and classic presence

The work will be professionally packaged to measure, with reinforced protection, double box and insured shipping.

International shipping is handled from a specialized logistics center. Preparation and distribution are usually completed within about three business days after payment confirmation.

Possible shipping surcharges for high-rate destinations within the European Union, island territories, remote areas or non-EU countries must be borne by the buyer.