École française (XX) - Notre Dame

Pictura Subastas presents this magnificent work of art belonging to the French school, depicting a great blue cathedral contemplated from a square with trees and passersby, uniting historical monumentality with the serenity of everyday life. The painting stands out for its excellent technique and the high pictorial quality it transmits.

· Dimensions with frame: 36x30x4 cm.
· Dimensions without frame: 30x24 cm.
· Mixed technique, hand-signed by the artist at the bottom right.
· The piece is in good conservation condition.
· The work is sold with a lovely frame (included in the auction as a gift).

The work comes from an exclusive private collection in Girona.

Important note: the included photographs form an integral part of the lot description. Digital representation in a mockup is indicative; there may be differences with the real article in color, scale and details.

The painting will be professionally packed by an IVEX expert (https://www.instagram.com/ivex.online/), using high-quality materials to ensure its protection. The shipping price covers both the cost of professional packing and the transport itself.
Shipping will be carried out by Correos, GLS or NACEX with tracking. International shipping available.

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This painting presents an evocative urban scene starring the imposing façade of a grand cathedral, contemplated from a gardened space where trees, vegetation and small human figures appear. The architecture occupies most of the composition and rises with a monumental presence, while the people in the foreground introduce scale, movement, and a daily dimension. The whole is wrapped in a luminous and almost dreamlike atmosphere, dominated by blues, greens and soft yellows.

The cathedral rises from the bottom to reach the upper edge of the work. Its façade appears built through a succession of vertical lines that emphasize its height and monumentality. Light and dark blues alternate with beige and whitish zones, creating an architecture that seems to dematerialize under the light and partially fuse with the sky.

In the lower area of the building, several entrances capped by pointed arches are distinguished. These vertical and narrow forms evoke historical religious architecture and guide the eye to the upper levels. The bluish shadows inside the arches contrast with the clarity of the walls and add depth to the façade.

In the central area stands a large circular opening reminiscent of a rose window. Its round shape breaks with the predominance of vertical lines and becomes one of the main visual centers of the composition. Around it appear other elongated windows and small architectural elements suggesting the building’s rich decoration without describing every detail rigidly.

At the top, several vertical structures could correspond to towers, buttresses or large windows. These shapes are cut against a clear, bright surface, extending the architecture upward. The blue here takes on a special intensity and gives the building a light, airy appearance, as if the cathedral were formed by light, air, and reflections.

To the right rises a large tree with a dark trunk and green canopy. Its branches extend over part of the façade, creating an organic contrast against the building’s geometry. The curved shapes of the vegetation soften the verticality of the architecture and establish a dialogue between nature and human construction.

The vegetation extends horizontally through the central and lower areas. The intense greens, turquoise and bluish tones form a strip of shrubs that separates the cathedral from the space through which the figures pass. This gardened zone introduces freshness and evokes a plaza or park in front of the monument.

In the foreground, several human figures appear distributed irregularly. Some walk alone, others seem to form small groups or couples. Their silhouettes are built with dark colors, reds, browns, and blues, and their small size reinforces the impressive scale of the building rising behind them.

A figure dressed in blue occupies the central lower zone and seems to stop in front of the cathedral. Its isolated position and orientation toward the monument make the character a possible representation of the viewer within the scene itself. Through this figure, the work invites contemplation of the architecture and experiencing its grandeur from a human perspective.

The ground in the foreground is divided by bluish horizontal lines that could suggest the edge of a sidewalk, a street, or a plaza separation. These stripes provide stability to the composition and contrast with the intense verticality of the cathedral and trees. At the same time, they create different depth levels among the observer, the figures, and the building.

The sky and light are expressed with pale yellows, creams, soft greens and white areas. This luminosity envelops the architecture and generates a warm atmosphere, despite the predominance of blues. The combination of cool and warm colors conveys a sense of serenity and turns the urban scene into a vision charged with sensitivity.

The composition blends the monumental and the everyday. The cathedral represents permanence, history, and spirituality, while the small figures embody the fleeting movement of daily life. The tree and gardens act as elements of unity between both worlds, integrating the architecture within a living and inhabited environment.

Taken together, the work offers a poetic and luminous interpretation of a grand cathedral contemplated from a gardened square. The blue tones of the façade, the green of the trees, and the presence of passersby create a balanced scene where history, nature, and urban life coexist harmoniously. The painting conveys admiration for the architecture and turns a daily moment in front of the monument into an experience of contemplation and beauty.