A large and quite lovely circa 1880 en plain air impressionist oil painting on canvas of a river landscape by notable French artist Louis-Paul Le Poittevin, presented in its original hand carved giltwood frame.
Bucolic setting under sunny blue skies is likely near the artist’s birthplace and hometown of La Neuville-Chant-d’Oisel in northern France. The vantage point is a tree-lined grassy bank of a river (perhaps the Seine or a tributary at summer levels) that flows past a village in the distance, nestled at the base of a gently sloping Hillside. Of particular note are delightful little details such as the church steeple and its shadow, and the pair of women on the opposite bank doing the day’s wash. Signed at lower right.
Impressively sized and exquisitely detailed hand carved giltwood Louis XVI-style frame is a wonderfully done work of art unto itself, and is original to the painting. On verso is the artist’s signature, appearing on both the frame and the stretcher.
Son of Alfred Le Poittevin, Louis-Paul Le Poittevin (b. May 23, 1847,, France—April 3, 1909) was a celebrated painter during his lifetime, known both for his art and for his close familial ties to iconic French writers Guy de Maupassant—his cousin and close confidant who dedicated his 1883 short story “L’Âne” to him—and Gustave Flaubert. He exhibited at Salon des Artistes Français in Paris from 1877 to 1907, and regularly sold his paintings at auction, including to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Reims.
Le Poittevin studied under Gustave Morin, Philippe Zacharie, William Bouguereau, and Tony Robert Fleury. French art critic, journalist, poet, lawyer, and historian Léon Roger-Milès described him as being a “robust and delicate, conscientious and sincere” talent, whose “nostalgic” and “melancholy” works give “the sensation of an immense regret shaking its wings of light and shadow in the forehead of immense pain”.
Dimensions overall;
Height: 29.25 in
Width: 35.5 in
Depth: 3.75 in
Sight is H 19 in. x W 24.63 in.
Condition: GoodWear consistent with age and use. Art: very good antique condition, w/ no notable marks or discoloration; a hint of age appropriate craqueleur. Frame: very good antique condition; some tiny nicks/marks; a couple small age related corner cracks revealing gesso.