Skippings Fine Arts has dated this piece to the 1910s.
The painting transports us to a moment of utter tranquility and soft nostalgia in the French countryside, likely painted in the years leading up to the First World War.
While the work avoids the bold contours of pure Art Nouveau, it possesses a distinct Art Nouveau sensibility in its elegant composition and focus on the organic beauty of nature. The rhythmic repetition of the hollyhocks suggests the period’s love for flowing, botanical forms. However the painting transcends its 1910s origin with its timeless subject matter.
Unsigned, the work has been attributed to Paul Mathey, an artist who studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the studios of painters Léon Cogniet and Isidore Pils. He began exhibiting at the Paris Salon in 1868. Works by Paul Mathey are held in prestigious public collections worldwide, including the Musée d'Orsay (Paris), the Château de Versailles, and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
Measuring 65 x 50 cm for the canvas alone, the painting is presented in its original, wood carved art nouveau frame. The overall framed size is 77 x 63 cm.
Skippings Fine Arts has dated this piece to the 1910s.
Modern french & continental pictures selected by a former french auction house expert
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Hollyhocks, the French Country Garden, Ca 1910 Art Nouveau Period Oil on Canvas
