Still Lifes

This splendid still life oil painting by Albert Brabo, done in Art Deco style circa 1925, portrays a tea pot and marionettes in a charming sitting room setting. The large canvas is signed by the artist and comes with a Montparnasse-style wooden frame. Based on comparisons with other pieces by Brabo, this work is estimated to have been created between 1920 and 1925.

Albert Brabo was a French painter of figures, portraits, nudes, landscapes and wall compositions.

Born April 12, 1894 in Alès (Gard) to a printer, painter and poet father, Albert Brabo studied drawing in 1907 at the Municipal School of Drawing in Alès. Having received a scholarship, he went to Paris and won the Grand Prix de Dessin de la Ville in 1909, at the age of fifteen. He attended the School of Decorative Arts and various academies. He began to exhibit at the Salon des Artistes Indépendants in 1911 and was included in the retrospective of this Salon in 1926.

After the war, he participated in the Salon d'Automne from 1920 and the Salon des Tuileries from 1922; he also appears at the Salon of the National Society of Fine Arts and the Salon of Orientalist Painters. He exhibits his works in Sweden, the United States and Japan. In 1927 he received the Grand Prize for Painting in North Africa. In 1937 he won the Universal Exhibition in Paris.

A fatal blow was dealt to his health and his artistic activity after his studio was looted in 1943 during the Second World War; from 1945 he stopped painting until his death in Vence (Alpes-Maritimes) on August 20, 1964 at the age of 70.

His work remains firmly rooted in the tradition of the 19th century. Le Delarge (Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Plastic Arts) writes about him: “He brings together all the talents of his time. Impressionist landscape painter in 1913, Fauve portrait painter in 1919, Cézanne landscape painter in 1923 and in a more subdued way at the Marquet, Cour de la villa Abd-el-Tif, (1927) and until 1942, realist portrait painter in 1924, painter of art deco nudes in 1925 or 1928. His know-how allows him to bring a kind of perfection to each of his works”.

Sources: Benezit, Dictionary of Artists,1999; Élisabeth Cazenave, Les artistes de l'Algérie: dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs, 1830-1962, 2001; Dictionnaire des arts plastiques modernes et contemporains.

Artiste: Albert Brabo (1894-1964).
Signed in lower left corner.
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Condition: Very good condition.
Dimensions: 60 x 81 cm. / 23 ½ x 32 in.
Frame: 73 x 94 cm. / 28 ¾ x 37 in. Very good condition.
Origine: France. 

This remarkable baroque still life depicts a table draped in rich cloths: a Prussian blue silk drapery and a brocaded silk curtain, flowing over a white table cloth. To the left of the arrangement is an intricate jewel embossed flower vase filled with violet and white lilacs, yellow daisies and pink roses. A matching jewel embossed and enameled ewer is on the left. In the center, an ornate silver fruit bowl is piled high with an abundance of grapes, apples, peaches and pears, some overflowing out of the bowl and onto the table. In the forefront at the edge of the table is a single gold goblet. A stunning composition.

Béla Balogh (1909-1980) was an autodidact Hungarian painter who specialized in still life compositions of fruit and flowers. Often that composition would consist of antique elements such as silver bowls, tankards, vases and ewers, or at times only a floral arrangement as the focal point of the painting. We have found little biographical information about this artist to date, but will continue researching. However, he appears to have been quite a prolific artist, judging from the auction records dating back to the early 90s. And since the early 00s, his paintings have been sold all over Europe and North America at reputed auction houses such as Bonhams and Christie’s.

Artist: Béla Balogh (1909-1980)
Signed in the lower right corner: “Balogh Béla”
Medium: Oil on canvas.
Condition: Excellent condition.
Dimensions: 79 x 61 cm. / 31 x 24 in.
Frame: 99,5 x 79 cm. / 39 x 31 ½ in. Sculpted, distressed wood finish, off-white and gold. Good general condition.
Provenance: Private collection, 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 still life oil painting, created around 1950, portrays a table adorned with fruit, books and pottery. The artist's signature can be found in the lower right corner.

Spiros George Xenos was a Greek-Swedish artist. Born on 11 June 1881 in Athens, Greece, after six years of study at Athens School of Fine Arts, he left Greece in 1903 and helped by a scholarship continued his education in Munich, Germany.

In Paris he opened a studio and established himself in artist circles. Here he also met his first wife Elin von Reis (1874-1926) whom he married 1911. In 1913, the couple went to Sweden for a short stay, but due to the outbreak of World War came to settle there.

Xenos's paintings were inspired by the landscape of Sweden's west coast, but he is also known for his portraits and still lifes. 

Spiros Xenos died on 21 January 1963 in Gothenburg, Sweden.

His work is exhibited at 'Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg', at 'the University of Gothenburg (School of Business, Economics and Law)' and in 'National Gallery and Alexandros Soutzos Museum' (Athens Art Museum).

Sources: Wikipedia.

Artiste: Spiros Xenos (1881-1963). 
Signed in the lower right corner. 
Medium: Oil on canvas. 
Condition: Very good condition. 
Dimensions: 39 x 50 cm. / 15 1/4 x 19 3/4 in. 
Frame: 47 x 58 cm. / 18 1/2 x 22 3/4 in. Very good condition.
Origin: Sweden.