Alphonse De Clercq

Alphonse De Clercq, The Return Of The Priest, Oil Painting

c. 1900

This charming early 20th-century English School oil painting depicts the Cannon Brewery at North End, Fulham, owned by John Lovibond & Sons Ltd. Founded in 1867, the brewery was bui...

This idyllic late 19th-century oil painting by English artist Edward William Cooke RA (1811-1880) depicts a west-country cove with two cottages, donkeys, figures, and fishing boats. Cooke was a highly renowned painter of marine scenes and landscapes who exhibited extensively at London’s Royal Academy. From our elevated vantage point, the view extends between two quaint cottages and across the beach before sweeping around the sandy coastline. Crystalline waters lap the shore, where moored craft rest. It’s an accomplished rendering of a challenging composition. It’s enhanced by trees, which essentially ‘frame’ the right side, while a wooded track provides interest on the left. Cooke was a keen admirer of the Dutch old masters, and the spirit of the Golden Age underpins this splendid work. In diaries, he recorded how he travelled by donkey to access elevated spots in the southwest, so it’s conceivable that he did so here. In his catalogue raisonné, it lists a work from the same year titled ‘Bay with Donkeys’. Born in Pentonville, London, Cooke was raised in the company of accomplished artists as both his father, George Cooke (1781-1834), and his uncle, William Bernard Cooke (1778-1855), were engravers. As such, they were associated with a circle of Victorian painters who aided Cooke’s early development. These included the highly regarded marine painter Clarkson Frederick Stanfield RA RBA (1793-1867), who provided frequent advice and inspiration. Indeed, as a teenager, Cooke produced numerous drawings after Stanfield’s works. A precocious talent, by the age of nine, he was already displaying an advanced understanding of engraving, particularly for ships, coupled with a natural, seemingly in-built skill as a draughtsman. Many of his early drawings depict pastoral landscapes after the masters, such as Nicolaes Berchem (1620-1683), Paulus Potter (1625-1654), and Karel Dujardin (1626-1678). In an extraordinary turn of events, in 1820, his advanced abilities led to his first commission when he provided botanical illustrations for John Loudon's 'Encyclopaedia of Plants’. These were followed by drawings published in the 'Botanical Cabinet...

This late 19th-century oil painting by British painter George William Mote (1832-1909) depicts a shepherd and his flock before an extensive view across the Surrey countryside near Gu...

This buoyant late 19th-century oil painting by Danish artist Niels Frederik Schiøttz-Jensen (1855-1941) depicts a coastal view in Capri, Italy, with a travelling family. Schiøttz-Jen...

Oil on canvas by Henri-André Martin (1918-2004), France, ca.1980s. Les Baux de Provence. With frame: 71x98 cm - 28x38.6 inches. Without frame: 65x92cm - 25.6x36.2 inches. 30P format....

Oil on canvas by Henri-André Martin (1918-2004), France, ca.1960. Notre-Dame de Paris. With frame: 79.3x 60.3 cm - 31.2x23.7 inches. Without frame: 54x 73 cm - 21.3x28.7 inches. 20P ...

Oil on canvas by Henri-André Martin (1918-2004), France, 1999. Road in Eygalieres, Alpilles, Provence. With frame: 52x67 cm - 20.5x26.4 inches. Without frame: 46x61cm - 18.1x24 inche...

Oil on canvas by Jallais, France, 1960s. Boats in port. In its pretty dark brown wooden frame. With frame: 68x58 cm - 26.8x22.8 inches, without frame: 61x50 cm - 24x19.7 inches. 12F ...