Winter Woods, the Impression of Snow, 1907: French Arts and Crafts Art Nouveau Oil on Canvas, Brittany

1900 - 1920

Sold by Skippings Fine Arts

Description

The beginning of the 20th Century marked a turning point in art, and the painting presented here is a wonderful example the astonishing innovation and creativity that surged up at the time.

Depicted is a scene which was dear to the Barbizon artists and 19th Century Realist artists: a peasant woman is shown on a path in the woods on the way to her village.

Here, however, it is presented with a twist. The brushwork is already expressionist. The colours are very art nouveau. There is a a wonderful arts-and-crafts abstraction and stylisation to it, which makes it modern and timeless.

The winter of 1907 was a cold one - it snowed, even on the coast of Brittany. We see a peasant woman near Yffiniac, a village near Saint Brieuc - which is just opposite Exeter, across the channel. With a bag on her shoulder, she may have been gathering wood.

Rendered wonderfully is the way snow changes the colours, illuminates the night, and creates magical, etherial world. Depicted is hence an enchanted forest, yet without idealisation.

Measuring 46 x 33 cm, the painting is dated 1907 and signed at the lower right. Frustratingly, I have not been able to decipher the signature. The painting is titled "Effets de neige, environs d'Yffiniac" on the verso, and dated again February 1907.

Presented in its original frame by frame maker E Adolphi in Paris, the overall framed size is 53 x 39 cm.

Physical Dimensions

Height

46cm (18.11")

Width

33cm (12.99")

Depth

1cm (0.39")

Declaration

Skippings Fine Arts has dated this piece to the 1910s.

Reference Numbers

Sellingantiques Reference

SA752351

Dealers Notes

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.

Description

The beginning of the 20th Century marked a turning point in art, and the painting presented here is a wonderful example the astonishing innovation and creativity that surged up at the time.

“

Depicted is a scene which was dear to the Barbizon artists and 19th Century Realist artists: a peasant woman is shown on a path in the woods on the way to her village.

Skippings Fine Arts

fig 1. Winter Woods, the impression of snow, 1907: French arts and crafts art nouveau oil on canvas, Brittany — fig 1. Winter Woods, the Impression of Snow, 1907: French Arts and Crafts Art Nouveau Oil on Canvas, Brittany

Here, however, it is presented with a twist. The brushwork is already expressionist. The colours are very art nouveau. There is a a wonderful arts-and-crafts abstraction and stylisation to it, which makes it modern and timeless.

fig 2. Winter Woods, the impression of snow, 1907: French arts and crafts art nouveau oil on canvas, Brittany — fig 2. Winter Woods, the Impression of Snow, 1907: French Arts and Crafts Art Nouveau Oil on Canvas, Brittany

The winter of 1907 was a cold one - it snowed, even on the coast of Brittany. We see a peasant woman near Yffiniac, a village near Saint Brieuc - which is just opposite Exeter, across the channel. With a bag on her shoulder, she may have been gathering wood.

fig 3. Winter Woods, the impression of snow, 1907: French arts and crafts art nouveau oil on canvas, Brittany — fig 3. Winter Woods, the Impression of Snow, 1907: French Arts and Crafts Art Nouveau Oil on Canvas, Brittany

Rendered wonderfully is the way snow changes the colours, illuminates the night, and creates magical, etherial world. Depicted is hence an enchanted forest, yet without idealisation.

Measuring 46 x 33 cm, the painting is dated 1907 and signed at the lower right. Frustratingly, I have not been able to decipher the signature. The painting is titled "Effets de neige, environs d'Yffiniac" on the verso, and dated again February 1907.

Presented in its original frame by frame maker E Adolphi in Paris, the overall framed size is 53 x 39 cm.