Time to sell a lot of our 'this and that' spare items - I'll be listing loads of them in weeks ahead. The things we set aside in deference to more fabulous or valuable antiques just owing to time constraints. Amazing how that relegated 'this and that' has multiplied over time! Included are some Antique French oil paintings which we'd bought for the charm of them, always intending to get a little restoration done or redone. This one is a charming still life of the kitchen, a copper kettle and some pears on a table. This type of art is called "Nature morte" in France, and is traditionally a prayer of thanks for one's evening meal which might include animals or birds and fruit, vegetables. The grandest of the genre are feasts, but most are quite humble and would hang in a kitchen, unframed. Very Impressionist in feel, it is signed by the artist.
Good to very good condition for age and type, this one has already had some quite nicely done restoration. You can see from the backside a patched in spot which is difficult to make out on the front, quite nicely done. The composition is wonderful, and so is the artist's loose stroke Impressionist style. Pears about to go bad, bruises hinting at the humble status. There is one bad spot below the pear at left which still needs some work, I think. Still, as humble as the subject is, there's lots of appeal to the painting. We're clearing space at the warehouse, and this one is being sold below our cost.
