Attractive rural landscape scene representing an old farmhouse surrounded by mature trees next to a pond bathed in late afternoon sunlight. A white mare and her foal frolic merrily in the meadow next to the pond. Oil painting is set in a magnificent Art Nouveau carved wood frame from the early 1900s, decorated with leaves, fruits and flowers, with an antique gold patina.
Félix Augustin Edouard Planquette was born into a family of merchants on April 23, 1873 in Arras (Pas-de-Calais). He discovered art at an early age thanks to his maternal grandfather, who was a friend of the eminent painters Jules and Émile Breton. He later attended the School of Fine Arts in Arras, then the School of Fine Arts in Lille. He completed his artistic training alongside Adrien Demont, based in Wissant, and later with Cormon in Paris.
Established later in Montmartin-sur-Mer in the English Channel, he specialized in the representation of landscapes and animal painting. He represented with great sensitivity the Normandy countryside and the shores of the English Channel, the landscapes of Creuse and the Côte-d'Azur, where he embraced the chromatic palette of the Impressionists. He also found sources of inspiration during his travels in Spain and Scotland. This artist was well-known for his ability to always make the animals in his creations an integral and harmonious part of the surrounding landscape.
He exhibited for the first time in 1894 at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris. A rtist, he obtained an honorable mention in 1900, a third medal in 1902, a first medal and a trarevered avel grant in 1905, and the Rosa Bonheur prize in 1912, what was described as "a supreme consecration for an animal painter". A distinguished and prolific painter, his works are spread all over the world, particularly in the United States, and are now exhibited in various museums, including Arras, Lille and San Francisco.
Félix Planquette died in Paris on March 12, 1964.
Sources: Benezit, Dictionary of Artists; Dictionnaire des Petits Maîtres de la Peinture, Gérald Schurr, 1996; Archives de France.
Artist: Félix Planquette (1873-1964)
Signed in the lower right corner.
Medium: Oil on wood.
Condition: Very good condition.
Dimensions: 34.5 x 26.5 cm. / 13 ½ x 10 ½ in.
Frame: 52.5 x 42 cm. / 20 ½ x 16 ½ in. Carved wood, very good condition. Art Nouveau style.
Origin: France.
