Skippings Fine Arts has dated this piece to the 1930s.
Grange studied painting in Paris at the Academie Ranson, where the painter Roger Bissière taught . His first private exhibition took place in the gallery of Leopold Zborowski, the legendary art dealer who discovered Amedeo Modigliani and Chaïm Soutine .
Between 1929 to 1935, Grange took part in numerous exhibitions and Salons, while
several of his paintings enter national or municipal museums, such as the Petit Palais in Paris, and the museums of Grenoble, Albi and Limoges.
The artist sojourned in Italy between 1936 to 1938 staying initially in Florence and Fiesole and later in Rome. It was during these travels in Italy that the canvas presented here was painted. It was certainly sketched on the motif, in plein air: it has that spontaneity and inspiredness about it which cannot be forced or faked. Note the tiny figure on the mountain path.
The work of art was stretched on to its wooden frame by the artist later, which explains some light and stable craquelure to the surface.
Returning to France when the Second World War broke out, Robert Grange settled in Montparnasse in 1945.
Art critics such as Jacques Lassaigne and Waldemar George hailed his return. The new expression of light appearing in his canvases was noted - credit to Italy is undoubtedly due - as well as the delicacy of his colours.
Our oil on canvas by Grange measures 33 x 61 cm and is signed at the lower left. The overall framed size is 45 x 73 cm
Skippings Fine Arts has dated this piece to the 1930s.
Modern french & continental pictures selected by a former french auction house expert
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Italian Landscape with Figure Ca 1938, Hills Near Rome, Cloud Study French Oil on Canvas
