Landscapes / Seascapes

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.

This painting depicts a mountain landscape with a stream and various vegetation, including dead tree stumps in the foreground. It is an oil on wood piece, signed by the artist in the lower right corner and also on the back with the name, title, and date of September 1945.

René-Robert Jaeger, also known as Robert Le Veneur, was born on May 26, 1890 in Modenheim, Alsace and passed away on September 22, 1976 in Biot, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. He was a French painter whose works mainly consisted of landscapes and still lifes, characterized by a striking contrast of bright colors.

Note: There are numerous works by this artist on the Internet which are erroneously attributed to Robert-August Jaeger (1896-1983) with whom he is not related, although there are certain similarities in his style.

Source: Archives de France. 

Artist: Robert Jaeger(1890-1976).
Signed Le Veneur in the lower right.
Medium: Oil on wood.
Condition: Very good condition.
Dimensions: 26 x 20 cm. / 10 1/4 x 8 in.
Frame: 32 x 26 cm. / 12 1/2 x 10 1/4 in. Very good condition. 
Provenance: Sweden.

This is an original painting by Sine Mackinnon that showcases a stunning landscape of the Jura Mountains. These sub-alpine mountains are located just north of the Western Alps and largely define the border between France and Switzerland. The piece is an oil painting on hardboard, and though it is unsigned, it does have an annotation on the back containing the artist's name, the painting's title, and the year 1951.

Selina Mairi Sine MacKinnon was an Irish landscape artist. Born February 11, 1901 at Newcastle, County Down, Ireland, her father was a clerk in the law courts in London.

She was educated in the Slade School of Fine Art in London between 1918 and 1924.  In 1924 she left for Paris and studied at La Grand Chaumiere for three years and then the Beaux Arts. During this time she became acquainted with Raoul Dufy, who was so impressed by her work that he introduced her to an art dealer, Barriero, and this led to her first solo exhibition in Paris. 

Sine Mackinnon spent much of her life living in France and Switzeland, travelling in Italy and Spain. She came back to England for a period during the war with her husband, Rupert Granviller-Fordham, but returned to Paris shortly after the war ended, later settling in St. Tropez.

Sine Mackinnon had many successful exhibitions in Paris and in London. Her work is represented in many public and private collections including the Tate Gallery (London), Homerton College (Cambridge) The Hepworth Wakefield (Wakefield), New Walk Museum (Leicester), Government Art Collection (London) and the Galerie de Jeu de Paume in Paris.

Sine Mackinnon died on October 6, 1996 in Maisons-Laffitte, near Paris.

Source: Wikipedia.

Artiste: Sine Mackinnon (1901-1996).
Unsigned.
Medium: Oil on hardboard.
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. Very good condition.
Origin: France.