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This impressionist painting by Henri Laigneau beautifully captures a peaceful farm landscape at sunset. Created with oil on canvas, it bears the artist's signature and date of completion in 1912. A stunning and timeless addition to any art collection.

Henri Édouard Laigneau was a French artist born in Rambouillet (Yvelines) on 24 August 1863. He trained in Paris at the Académie Colarossi, which was a ‘free studio’, and took anatomy classes at the École des Beaux-Arts.

He exhibited at the official Salon from 1899, but also very quickly at the more avant-garde Salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-arts, and at the Salon des Indépendants from 1910. Very interested in luminous contrasts, the artist mainly painted landscapes and portraits. 

Henri Laigneau inherited a strong Pointillist influence in the style of Pissarro. The viewer is struck by his interest in light and bright colours. This aspect of his work could also be related to the painter Bonnard, a former ‘nabi’. The artist's professionalism is evident in his sense of composition, rigorous drawing and colour construction. Several of his works are kept in public collections, in Niort, Rambouillet and Nancy among others.

Henri Laigneau was very attached to his region, and remained a Rambouillet until his death on 29 January 1947.

Sources: Archives de France. 

Artist: Henri Laigneau (1863-1947).
Signed and dated in the lower right corner. 
Medium: Oil on canvas. 
Condition: Very good condition. 
Dimensions: 38 x 46 cm. / 15 x 18 in. 
Frame: 52 x 60 cm. / 20 1/2 x 23 1/2 in. Silver-plated wood, very good condition. 
Origin: France.

This original oil on canvas portrait captures a bearded man dressed in medieval clothing with impeccable detail. Signed with initials and accompanied by a biographical label, this work is one of Hyppolite Bellangé's last pieces from 1865. A must-have for any art collector or history enthusiast.

Joseph Louis Hippolyte Bellangé, French artist. Born 17 January 1800, in Paris; died 10 April 1866, in Paris. He was a painter, watercolourist, draughtsman and lithographer. He mainly painted military subjects, battles and genre scenes.

He entered Baron Antoine-Jean Gros’ workshop at a very young age and there he became friends with Nicolas Toussaint Charlet, who had recently published his first lithographs. The young Bellangé followed his colleague’s lead and started producing plates of military costumes and illustrations of Old Guard veterans in Napoleon's armies. He made his début at the Paris Salon with military scenes and his work as an illustrator quickly became well-known, although his genre painting demonstrated greater verve and vivacity. He sought help from Adrien Dauzats in the rendering of architectural features in his battle scenes. He was awarded a second place medal in 1824 and, in 1834, the cross of the Légion d'Honneur. He was one of the first to be named curator of the military museum at Versailles. In 1836, he was appointed curator of Rouen Museum; from then on, he devoted his time almost entirely to painting. His reputation grew steadily throughout his life, and his final painting, La garde meurt, was a genuine triumph. It was shown posthumously to great acclaim at the 1867 Exposition Universelle, as were his illustrations Les deux amis (Sevastopol), 1855; Épisode de la Retraite de Russie, 1863; Épisode du retour de l’île d’Elbe, 1864. He was made an officer of the Légion d'Honneur in 1861. Bellangé's body of lithographic work comprises some 500 catalogue entries compiled by Jules Adeline in 1880.

Source: Benezit Dictionary of Artists; Archives de France.
 
Artist: Hippolyte Bellangé (1800-1866).
Signed hyp. B. and label on the stretcher.
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Condition: Very good condition.
Dimensions: 56 x 46 cm. / 22 x 18 in.
Frame: 73 x 64 cm. / 28 3/4 x 25 1/4 in. Gilt wood, very good condition.
Origin: France.

This beautiful portrait captures the delicate and intimate essence of a woman in profile, as she sits and looks through a magazine. Her gaze appears abstracted, perhaps indicating that she is viewing through a window, where the light shines upon her face. She is wearing a violet dress with gold trimmings. A bouquet of violets in a glass vase on a table completes the scene. Painted with oil on canvas, this piece is in excellent condition with only minor craquelure on the forehead and evidence of previous restoration. The artwork is signed and dated by the artist in 1923 and is accompanied by its original frame, a stunning gilded carved wood design. 

There are many epithets that fit the Finnish talented and cosmopolitan Hugo Elias Backmansson. He was an officer, a battle painter, a world traveller and a chess master. Born April 17, 1860 in Paimio (at that time Finland belonged to the Russian Empire). He studied at Turku Drawing School (1870–73). After his officer's training at Cadet School of Fredrikshamn, Backmansson got a job in the Izmailovsky regiment in St. Petersburg and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in this city (1894–99), there he also studied battle painting with excellent ingenuity. In 1905 he took part in the Russo-Japanese War as a war reporter and battle painter. Backmansson made his first trip to North Africa in 1898, when he fell in love with the light and colours and returned many times. He became known for his numerous depictions of military life and North Africa in watercolour and oil, but he was also a tireless portraitist and landscape painter for seven decades.

Backmansson is represented, among others, in Åbo Akademi, the Amos Anderson Art Museum, the Athenaeum Art Museum, Lahden Museum, Gösta Serlachius Museum, Turku Art Museum, Ett hem Museum and the Hermitage in St Petersburg. 

The artist died November 19, 1953 in Helsinki, at the ninety-three, succumbing to a fall from a tramway.

Sources: Wikipedia; Hugo Backmansson - Artist, officer and adventurer, Swedish Literature Society in Finland, 2010.

Artist: Hugo Backmansson (1860-1953).
Signed and dated in the upper right-hand corner.
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Condition: Very good condition.
Dimensions : 52 x 63 cm. / 20 1/2 x 24 3/4 in.
Frame: 62 x 73 cm. / 24 1/2 x 28 3/4 in. Very good condition.
Origin: Finland.

Original post-impressionist oil painting representing the French village of Pont-du-Château, a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France, as indicated by the artist with a signed annotation on the back. Signed and dated 1969 in the lower left corner. 

Jacques Roland Sokol was a French landscape painter. Of Polish descent, his family settled in France in 1925, coming from Cracow. Born on 3 September 1933 in Loches (Indre-et-Loire), he had a self-taught artistic training, first with his father and from 1947 with Mathurin Méheut (1882-1958). Settled in Senlis (Oise) from 1960, he combined his military career in the air force with painting. He participated regularly in the Salon des Artistes Français as well as in numerous exhibitions in France and abroad. Throughout his artistic career, his style evolved from abstraction to impressionism, until he adopted a more sombre style at the end of his life. His work mainly depicts landscapes of Brittany, Provence, Auvergne and Oise. 

Jacques Sokol died on 23 January 2023 in Nogent-sur-Oise (Oise), at the age of 89.

Artist: Jacques Sokol (1933-2023).
Signed and dated in the lower right corner.
Medium: Oil on canvas. 
Condition: Very good condition.
Dimensions: 46 x 55 cm. / 18 x 21 1/2 in.
Frame: 59 x 68 cm. / 23 1/4 x 26 3/4 in. Very good condition.
Origin: France.

Original Jacques Sokol post-impressionist oil painting circa 1965 representing a landscape of Provence with a small village, as indicated by the artist with a signed annotation on the back. Oil on canvas with a Montparnasse-style gilded and sculpted wooden frame.

Jacques Roland Sokol was a French landscape painter. Of Polish descent, his family settled in France in 1925, coming from Cracow. Born on 3 September 1933 in Loches (Indre-et-Loire), he had a self-taught artistic training, first with his father and from 1947 with Mathurin Méheut (1882-1958). Settled in Senlis (Oise) from 1960, he combined his military career in the air force with painting. He participated regularly in the Salon des Artistes Français as well as in numerous exhibitions in France and abroad. Throughout his artistic career, his style evolved from abstraction to impressionism, until he adopted a more sombre style at the end of his life. His work mainly depicts landscapes of Brittany, Provence, Auvergne and Oise.

Jacques Sokol died on 23 January 2023 in Nogent-sur-Oise (Oise), at the age of 89.

Artist: Jacques Sokol (1933-2023).
Signed in the lower right corner.
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Condition: Very good condition.
Dimensions: 46 x 65 cm. / 18 x 25 1/2 in.
Frame: 60 x 79 cm. / 23 1/2 x 31 in. Very good condition.
Origin: France.

Stunning post-impressionist oil painting representing a coastal landscape at dawn with sailboats moored at a quay on a rough sea. Signed and dated 1965 in the lower left corner. Oil on canvas with a gilded wooden frame.

Jacques Roland Sokol was a French landscape painter. Of Polish descent, his family settled in France in 1925, coming from Cracow. Born on 3 September 1933 in Loches (Indre-et-Loire), he had a self-taught artistic training, first with his father and from 1947 with Mathurin Méheut (1882-1958). Settled in Senlis (Oise) from 1960, he combined his military career in the air force with painting. He participated regularly in the Salon des Artistes Français as well as in numerous exhibitions in France and abroad. Throughout his artistic career, his style evolved from abstraction to impressionism, until he adopted a more sombre style at the end of his life. His work mainly depicts landscapes of Brittany, Provence, Auvergne and Oise.

Jacques Sokol died on 23 January 2023 in Nogent-sur-Oise (Oise), at the age of 89.

Artist: Jacques Sokol (1933-2023).
Signed in the lower right corner.
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Condition: Very good condition.
Dimensions: 50 x 61 cm. / 19 3/4 x 24 in.
Frame: 61 x 71 cm. / 24 x 28 in. Very good condition.
Origin: France.

This post-impressionist oil painting of a French Provence sunset coastal mountain landscape with sailboats, signed and dated by Jacques Sokol in 1965, represents a significant period in the artist's career. Born in 1933 to a Polish family that settled in France, Sokol was primarily self-taught, drawing early influence from his father and later from Mathurin Méheut, a notable French artist. Although Sokol pursued a military career in the French Air Force, his passion for painting flourished alongside his service.

By 1965, Sokol had established himself in Senlis (Oise) and was actively participating in prominent art exhibitions, including the Salon des Artistes Français. His work from this era, like the piece in question, reflects a blend of abstraction and impressionism, showcasing his evolving style. Sokol's landscapes frequently captured the natural beauty of regions like Brittany, Provence, Auvergne, and Oise, characterized by vivid colors and dynamic compositions.

This particular painting, unframed and depicting the serene yet vibrant interaction between land, sea, and sky, is a testament to Sokol's artistic prowess during this phase of his career. His transition towards a darker, more introspective style in later years further emphasizes the unique quality of this 1965 piece. Sokol's contributions to the French art scene continued until his passing in 2023 at the age of 89, leaving behind a legacy celebrated for its depth and diversity.

Artist: Jacques Sokol (1933-2023). 
Signed and dated in the lower left corner.
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Condition: Very good condition.
Dimensions: 46 x 65 cm. / 18 x 25 1/2 in.
Frame: Unframed.
Origin: France.

Coastal landscape scene representing a steamship and other boats in unidentified French port, likely somewhere in the south of the country. Oil on canvas circa 1900, recently restored.  

French landscape painter and woodworker, Jean-Louis Verdié was born on September 28, 1845 in Réalville (Tarn-et-Garonne). He studied art at the drawing school of Montauban and the school of fine arts in Bordeaux. He was a pupil of Louis-Alexandre Cabié (1854-1939), naturalistic painter who worked with Corot and Courbet, and Henri Harpignies (1819-1916), landscape painter and engraver, friend of Corot and very influenced by the school of Barbizon. After his studies, Verdié participated in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 to 1871. After returning to Bordeaux, he married Elisabeth Bergé in 1873. Years later, he moved to Périgueux (Dordogne) where he painted the largest part of his work in the surrounding countryside. He participated in the Salon Perigoudin between 1898 and 1910 and the Salon of French Artists in Paris between 1898 and 1901, where he won the 2nd Medal in 1900. 

In 1908, he lived with his wife in Auch (Gers) where he died on February 16, 1937 at the age of 92 years. He is buried in the family vault located in the nearby town of Saint-Brès.

NOTE - SOLD WITHOUT FRAME.

Artist: Jean-Louis Verdié (1845-1937).
Signed in the lower left corner.
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Condition: Very good condition. Restored.
Dimensions: 54 x 81 cm. / 21 ½ x 32 in.
Frame: Unframed.
Origin: France.

Mountain landscape representing a surging torrent with figures in the foreground and the Alps in the background. Oil on canvas, recently relined and restored.

Leberecht Lortet (or Lortel) was a French landscape painter, born to French parents in Heidelberg (Baden-Württemberg, Germany) on April 30, 1828. He lived most of his life in Lyon (from 1848 to 1861) and its surroundings, dying on November 6, 1901 in Oullins, Rhône, France.

A pupil of Alexandre Calame in Geneva, Switzerland, Lortet began exhibiting at the Salon in Lyon in 1858 and then took part in the Paris Salon from 1859 to 1870. Like Gabriel Loppé, he specialized in mountain landscapes and found a clientele among the English, who were then discovering the new sport of mountaineering. This prolific artist dedicated his life to painting mountains: snowy peaks, green meadows surrounded by fir trees, and shady lakes. His nickname was “the painter of the Alps”. His paintings are presently on display in museums in Lyon, Strasbourg, Montpellier, Geneva and Bern, as well as in numerous private collections.

Sources: Benezit, Dictionary of Artists; Archives de France; Gérald Schurr & Pierre Cabanne, Dictionnaire des Petits Maîtres de la peinture 1820-1920.

Artist: Leberecht Lortet (1828-1901).
Signed in lower left corner.
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Condition: Very good condition, relined and restored.
Dimensions: 41 x 65 cm. / 16 x 25 ½ in.
Frame: 60 x 85 cm. / 23 ¾ x 30 ½ in. Sculpted wood, excellent condition.
Origin: France.

Singular double engraving portrait of Bossuet and Fénelon, showing on the left the Bishop of Meaux, Bossuet (after the original painting by Rigaud), and on the right, the Archbishop of Cambrai, Fénelon (after the original painting by Vivien). This double engraving certainly relates to the famous theological dispute between the two clergymen. Bossuet entered into a bitter conflict with Fénelon and persecuted his adversary with special wickedness to the point of finally causing him to fall out of favour with the king, who exiled him. He also obtained the condemnation by the Pope of the “Maxims of the Saints”, written by Fénelon.

Louis Jacques Cathelin, born in Paris in 1738 and died in the same city in 1804, was a French engraver. He began in 1762 as a pupil of Jacques-Philippe Le Bas and very quickly excelled in representing the portraits of notable figures in the narrow frame of a medallion. He was admitted to the Academy in 1777. He produced portraits of court figures, scholars, artists and politicians. After a hiatus during the revolutionary period, he produced, from the year VIII, portraits which appeared for books.

Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, born September 27, 1627 in Dijon and died April 12, 1704 in Paris, was a man of the Church, bishop and French writer. A renowned preacher from early in his career, he gave sermons and funeral orations which remain eminent to this day. He was the author of an abundant written work on spirituality, responsible for the instruction of the king’s eldest son, the anti-Protestant controversy and various other controversies, including that which opposed him to Fenelon on the subject of Quietism. 

François de Salignac de La Mothe-Fénelon, or Fénelon, was born August 6, 1651 at the Château de Fénelon in Sainte-Mondane (Quercy, now Dordogne) and died January 7, 1715 in Cambrai. He was a man of the Church and theologian, a French teacher and writer. Tutor to the Duke of Burgundy, Archbishop of Cambrai (1695-1715), he opposed Bossuet and fell into disgrace during the quarrel over Quietism, and above all, after the publication of his novel, Les Aventures de Télémaque (1699), considered a criticism of the politics of Louis XIV and whose literary influence was considerable for more than two centuries. Fénelon also wrote several other works concerning education or didactics.

Sources: Benezit Oxford Art Online; Wikipedia.

Artist: Louis-Jacques Cathelin (1738-1804).
Medium: Etching.
Condition: Excellent condition.
Dimensions: 22.5 x 29 cm. / 9 x 11 ½ in. (sheet) / 15 x 21 cm. / 6 x 8 ¼ in. (image).
Frame: 33 x 38 cm. / 13 x 15 in. Wood, acid-free matting, glass.
Origin: France.

This original 1960 vintage drawing, created by renowned artist Louis Muhlstock, features a woman nude figure in a beautiful pastel painting.

Louis Muhlstock, Jewish Canadian draughtsman and painter (Narajow, then Austria-Hungary 23 April 1904 – Montréal, 26 August 2001), best known as a painter of the Depression. Muhlstock immigrated to Montréal in 1911 and worked for his family's fruit-importing firm. He studied art at night at the Monument National and Art Association of Montreal (now the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts) and participated in his first exhibition at the Royal Canadian Academy in 1925. He then moved to Paris in 1928, where he spent three years studying with figure painter Louis Biloul at the École des beaux-arts and sketching at l’Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Montparnasse, a private art school whose famous alumni include Amadeo Modigliani and Jean-Paul Riopelle. During this time, he exhibited at the Paris salons. He returned to Montreal in 1931 and set up his own studio, becoming a full-time painter and teaching drawing. He sketched unemployed men in nearby Fletcher's Field, capturing the spirit of the times in sensitive drawings in chalk or charcoal often done on wrapping paper. He evoked his east-end neighbourhood in vibrant street scenes from the market on St Lawrence-Main or shadowed yards. During WWII he sketched riveters at the Montréal shipyards, shown as War Workers, 1945. Muhlstock received recognition in 1937 from Douglas Duncan of the Picture Loan Society, Toronto. During the 1950s and 1960s he held one-man shows at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Waddington Galleries; in 1972 at the Verdun Cultural Centre. In 1976 the Windsor Art Gallery exhibited "45 Years of Muhlstock"; in 1978 he showed at Place des Arts, and in 1986 Concordia University showed "New Theme and Variations." By this time Muhlstock's work was almost entirely abstract. In September of 1996, an 80-piece retrospective exhibited Muhlstock's work at galleries in Québec, as well as in Edmonton. Muhlstock, who continued to paint daily at his home in Montreal until his death, called his work "a moment in time only." 

Muhlstock was a member of the Canadian Society of Graphic Artists, the Canadian Group of Painters, the Contemporary Arts Society, the Federation of Canadian Artists and the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour. He held an honorary doctorate from Concordia University (1978) and was an Officer of the Order of Canada (1991) and Knight of the Order of Quebec (1998). He was also one of the members of a collective called the Jewish Painters of Montreal, who have been exhibited in public galleries across Canada. In 2009 the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec mounted a touring exhibition Jewish Painters of Montreal: a Witness to their time 1930-1948 which renewed interest in the group in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia; National Gallery of Canada; Trépanier, Esther. Jewish Painters of Montreal: Witnesses of their Time 1930-1948. Montreal: Éditions de l’Homme, 2008.

Artist: Louis Muhlstock (1904-2001).
Signed and dated 1960.
Medium: Pastel on paper.
Condition: Very good condition.
Dimensions: 63.5 x 48.5 cm. / 25 x 19 in.
Frame: Unframed.
Origin: Canada.

Michel Gabriel Joseph Toussaint Fronti was a French painter and pastel artist, born in Marseille on November 3, 1862 and died in the same city on September 20, 1936. Son of an artist, he manifested a strong inclination for painting from a young age. He followed the usual route of painters from the south of France: École des Beaux-Arts in Marseille (studio of Eugène Lagier), then in Paris (under Jules Lefèbvre and Benjamin-Constant). It wasn't long before he made a name for himself in the artistic world.

Member of the Salon des Artistes Français, he exhibited and obtained great success (silver medal in 1922) and numerous awards at various Salons. On his return to Marseille, he quickly found his place in the great family of Provence artists, where his kindness and smiling indulgence earned him many close friendships. Michel Fronti was honorary president of the Artists of Provence and member of the jury at the École des Beaux-Arts in Marseille.

The work of Michel Fonti, as a whole, testifies to a high artistic conscience, an aesthetic confidence and, above all, a keen sensitivity. As a pastel artist, Michel Fronti demonstrated unusual virtuosity and was fully invested in all his works.

The pedestrian victim of a traffic accident, he succumbed to his injuries seven months after the incident on September 20, 1936, aged 74.

Sources: Benezit, Dictionary of Artists; Le Petit Marseillais, 23 septembre 1936, p.3; Gérard Schurr & Pierre Cabanne : Dictionnaire des Petits Maîtres de la peinture. Les Éditions de l’Amateur, p. 311.

Artist: Michel Fronti (1862-1936).
Signed “M. Fronti” in the bottom left corner.
Medium: Pastel on paper.
Condition: Excellent condition, professionally restored.
Dimensions: 59 x 72 cm. / 23 ¼ x 28 ¼ in.
Frame: 83 x 96 cm. / 32 ½ x 37 ¾ in. Wood, contemporary, classic style.
Origin: France.  

This unframed oil on canvas vintage painting, circa 1970 and signed Minsk, features a clown wearing a wreath of roses.

Polish-born (1923) Jewish painter, nationalized French in the interwar period, Minsk comes from a family of artists, (cousin of sculptors Lipchitz and Rapoport). He studied at the Beaux-Arts in Paris.

Second generation painter of the Paris School, Minsk was a pupil of Mane-Katz. He exhibited from 1976 to 1985 in Parisian galleries, specifically Galerie Duncan, rue de Seine, and Galerie Médicis, Place des Vosges. He participated in some editions of the Salon de Paris and the Independents. Established in the south of France after 1980, he exhibited there regularly, in Baux-de-Provence, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Vallauris, Marseille, Aix and in his workshop in Nice.

His work, dense and colourful, can be classified as expressionist. He painted characters from the past (musicians, tailors, farm women) but also from the present with beautiful portraits of men and women. His landscapes and village scenes are also noteworthy for their intensity.

Sources: Adrian Darmon: Autour de l'art juif: Encyclopédie universelle des peintres, sculpteurs et photographes (Paris, 2003); Arcadja Auction Results. 

NOTE - SOLD WITHOUT FRAME.  

Artist: Minsk (1923-?)
Signed in lower right. 
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Condition: Very good condition.
Dimensions: 46 x 55 cm. / 18 x 21 ½ in.
Frame: Unframed.
Origin: France.

Bust engraving of Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, represented in a ceremonial costume reserved for deputies of the Order of the Nobility: a black cloth cloak over a formal suit, gold cloth trim over the cloak, a lace tie and a Henri IV-style white feather hat. The portrait is set in an oval frame topped with garlands of oak leaves.

The following title appears in French under the frame: “Louis Phil. Joseph, Duke of Orleans. Member of Parliament for Crépy en Valois. Born April 13, 1747. General collection of Portraits of the Members the National Assembly held in Versailles on May 4, 1789. In Paris at Le Vachez under the Colonnades of the Royal Palace nº 258”.

Louis-Philippe-Joseph (1747-1793), Duke of Chartres, then of Orléans (1785-90), descended from the royal Bourbon family, yet became a supporter of popular democracy during the 1789 Revolution. He was the great-great-grandson of Philippe I, duc d'Orléans (1640-1701), younger brother of Louis XIV, and the great-grandson of Philippe II, duc d'Orléans (1674-1703), who as regent for Louis XV endeavored to secure his own secession over that of Philip V of Spain. Louis-Philippe-Joseph's own son Louis-Philippe reigned as King following the July Revolution of 1830. Louis-Philippe-Joseph was Louis XVI's cousin, but lived away from the royal court at Versailles due to his hostility toward the King's wife, Marie-Antoinette. Louis-Philippe-Joseph supported the underprivileged Third Estate and was considered a hero by the revolutionaries; after the fall of the monarchy in August 1792, he renounced his noble title and accepted the name Philippe Égalité. He was elected to the National Convention, and voted for the execution of Louis XVI. Nonetheless, Égalité himself was sent to the guillotine in 1793, accused of conspiring with his son, the future King, and Austrian accomplices.

Nicolas-François Le Vachez (1740-180.?), French engraver and intaglio printer. Born in Saint-Jean-les-Deux-Jumeaux, he resided in Paris from 1757. He became a print publisher from around 1778 and was still active in 1802. Associated from around 1789 with his son Charles-François-Gabriel Le Vachez (1760-1841), engraver and print publisher until under the French Restoration. They signed as Le Vachez, or Levachez fils, but it is impossible to differentiate their works. A Charles Levacher died in Paris on January 31, 1841 (Civil status: returned Parisian); it may be him. Not to be confused, in any case, with the bookseller Levacher, active in Paris from 1792 to 1810.

Sources: British Museum; BNF; Archives de France.

Artist: Nicolas-François Le Vachez / Charles-François-Gabriel Le Vachez.
Medium: Engraving.
Condition: Very good condition.
Dimensions: 28.5 x 22 cm / 11 ¼ x 8 ½ in. (sheet). 25 x 19 cm. / 10 x 7 ½ in. (visible).
Frame: 38 x 33 cm. / 15 x 13 in. Gilt wood (classic style), glass and acid-free mat.
Origin: France.

Quaint scene representing a young hunter negotiating his catch of birds with a young woman. Circa 1750 oil on canvas, relined. Spectacular Louis XV gilt wood and stucco frame, richly worked with a shiny and matte patina. Very good condition.

Copy of the original painting by Gaspard Gresly, currently lost or missing, made by his younger brother Nicolas Gresly (1724-1788), painter and art dealer, who worked in his brother's studio and made several copies of his most famous paintings. He also produced paintings for the small altars of the Besançon seminary in 1766.

Gaspard Gresly was born in Isle-sur-le-Doubs (Franche-Comté) on January 8, 1712, into a family of Swiss workers employed in a glass factory. He instinctively became a painter and succeeded above all in trompe-l'oeil and candlelight effects. He specialized in portraits with a local flair, still lifes and especially the painting of daily life intimate scenes of the bourgeoisie or wealthy peasant families. Protégé of the Count of Caylus, an illustrious Parisian patron, he quickly acquired a loyal clientele both in Franche-Comté and in Paris. He died in Besançon (Doubs) on February 17, 1756, at the age of 44, in a state of near misery. Most of his surviving paintings are part of the Besançon Museum of Fine Arts collection.

Source: Benezit, Dictionary of Artists; Dictionnaire des Artistes et Ouvriers d'Art de la Franche-Comté, 1912; Archives de France.

Artist: Nicolas Gresly (1724-1788).
Unsigned.
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Condition: Very good condition. Recently restored.
Dimensions: 77 x 62 cm. / 30 ¼ x 24 ½ in.
Frame: 96 x 83 cm. / 37 ¾ x 32 ¾ in. Gilt wood and stucco, very good condition.
Origin: France.

Large-format oil on canvas painting depicting a view of Fürstenau Castle (Schloss Fürstenau), located in the Steinbach district of Michelstadt in Odenwald (Germany). The artist depicts the magnificent arch built in 1588 of the castle courtyard.

Otto Johann Rut was an Austrian-Canadian landscape painter.

Born on 29 June 1910 in Schwechat, a town southwest of Vienna, he studied art at the art school in the capital. After the Second World War, he emigrated to Canada in 1950. Specialising in Canadian and European landscapes, the artist was able to capture a superior depth of field, mixing his own colour spectrum to recreate hues rarely seen outside of nature. His style could range from bold and dynamic to serene and subdued.

A tireless painter, he worked well into his 80s. His works are represented in numerous private art collections, mainly in Ontario and Quebec. The Ottawa City Hall owns one of his works.

Otto Rut died in Montreal on 28 January 2005.

Artist: Otto Rut (1910-2005)
Signed in the lower right corner.
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Condition: Excellent condition.
Dimensions: 71 x 59 cm. / 28 x 23 1/4 in.
Frame: 90 x 78 cm. / 35 1/2 x 30 1/2 in. Wood, very good condition.
Origin: Canada.
Born on 29 June 1910 in Schwechat, a town southwest of Vienna, he studied art at the art school in the capital. After the Second World War, he emigrated to Canada in 1950. Specialising in Canadian and European landscapes, the artist was able to capture a superior depth of field, mixing his own colour spectrum to recreate hues rarely seen outside of nature. His style could range from bold and dynamic to serene and subdued.

A tireless painter, he worked well into his 80s. His works are represented in numerous private art collections, mainly in Ontario and Quebec. The Ottawa City Hall owns one of his works.

Otto Rut died in Montreal on 28 January 2005. 

Artist: Otto Rut (1910-2005)
Signed in the lower right corner.
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Condition: Excellent condition.
Dimensions: 71 x 59 cm. / 28 x 23 1/4 in.
Frame: 90 x 78 cm. / 35 1/2 x 30 1/2 in. Wood, very good condition.
Origin: Canada.