Seascape, Beach Scene, Brittany, by Chelsea Marine Artist Leopold Pascal (1900-1957) Antique French Oil on Canvas

Grey is Leopold Pascal's signature shade, and he uses it masterfully. As a native of the Breton coast, he was certainly able to observe the complexity of this moody, subtle and elegant colour when studying the seascape. In the present painting, it looks like the grey is about to lift to give way to some blue.

Pascal's marine landscapes are so renowned that he was named official painter of the French Marine in 1945.

Léopold Pascal moved from Brittany to Montmartre in 1922. His first one man show received excellent reviews, even from art critic André Warnod (nb a painting by Warnod's wife is listed by by elsewhere on this site). Pascal exhibited at the major Paris salons from 1923.

A member of the Resistance during WW2, he was assigned to the Free French Naval Forces in the UK, and become their War Correspondant in 1942. Meeting Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill, he created murals at Wemyss Castle and at Free French Naval Force bases at Greenock, Glasgow, London and Portsmouth.

After the war, Leopold Pascal settled in Chelsea, where he was one of the founder members of the respected group known as 'The Artists of Chelsea'.

In the UK, paintings by the artist can be found in the National Maritime Museum, Cornwall, the National Museum, Cardiff, the Museum of Glasgow, and at Wemyss Castle. In France, his work is in the Collection of the Petit Palais, Paris, the Modern Art Museum of the City of Paris and the Musée des Jacobin, Morlaix.

The oil on canvas presented here is very representative for the oeuvre of Leopold Pascal.

It depicts a northern shore with a lone boat on the horizon. It is a deceptively simple composition with complex, luminous colours in a limited palette. If you look up the artist on the Art UK website, do compare the work with his painting at the Leicestershire County Council Artworks Collection!

Measuring 27 x 35 cm, the painting is signed at the lower left. The overall size in its 33 x 41 cm.

Nous parlons français, und wir sprechen auch Deutsch! Paintings may be viewed in Norwich and in Paris, as well as in London and Cambridge by appointment. Please contact us if you would like further details and images of an artwork.