Items Similar to Bateaux sur la mer - French Naive Seascape Oil Painting by Camille Bombois
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 13
Camille BomboisBateaux sur la mer - French Naive Seascape Oil Painting by Camille Bomboisc.1920
c.1920
$19,744.62
£14,400
€16,794.41
CA$27,037.13
A$30,061.61
CHF 15,696.52
MX$365,923.02
NOK 200,280.70
SEK 187,653.44
DKK 125,339.81
Shipping
Retrieving quote...The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation
About the Item
Signed oil on canvas seascape circa 1920 by French naive painter Camille Bombois. This work depicts workers out at sea on a large sail boat with a few smaller boats visible in the distance.
Signature:
Signed lower right
Dimensions:
Framed: 29"x37"
Unframed: 18"x26"
Provenance:
Private collection - United States
Olivier Lorquin and Didier Jumaux have confirmed the authenticity of this work. The lot is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.
The son of a bargee, in 1895 Camille Bombois was placed as a farm boy in Migennes, near Laroche. By the time he was 17 it appears that he had began to draw rustic scenes. Being prodigiously strong, it was also at this time that he became a local champion wrestler. From 1907 he worked as an itinerant road mender, circus strongman and a porter. He married in 1908 and moved to Paris, where he worked as a labourer on the construction of the Métro subway. He then changed to nightwork at a newspaper printing works, handling the enormous rolls of paper used in the rotary presses. This allowed him the time he needed to paint during the day. In 1914 he was called into service for the duration of the war, but by 1922 he was exhibiting some of his paintings at the outdoor 'Foire aux croûtes' in Montmartre. These were noticed and written about by the poet and journalist Noël Bureau in Rhythm and Synthesis ( Rythme et Synthèse). In 1924 he was discovered by Wilhelm Uhde, the critic and dealer, who in 1927 bought most of his paintings to exhibit. Bombois settled in a large house in the suburbs and started work as a market gardener, dividing his time between growing vegetables and painting. He began to draw on the memories of the first half of his life for inspiration in his role as a painter.
His entire collection of work, whose themes are all intertwined, can only be analysed by grouping the themes according to when those events occurred in his life, rather than by the chronological order in which they were painted. He did not like school, and its only representation is that of his mother holding his hand on the return home along the shady lanes. His childhood on a barge travelling along the peaceful canals and rivers inspired the most tranquil of his pictures when he painted fishermen sitting patiently on the river banks, curtains of trees reflecting bluey-green on the surface of the water, a country house glimpsed through the foliage, evoking the soft rustling sound as the countryside slips slowly by. When his work is considered as a whole, it is strikingly noticeable how the paintings relating to the memories and countryside of his childhood contrast strongly with those of themes in adulthood, both in the quality of the painting and particularly in the distinct poetic sensitivity that they display, reminiscent of the work of Henri Rousseau. He had particularly happy memories of the time he spent in the circus, and enjoyed evoking it in his pictures. He was dazzled by the garish costumes, the harsh lights, the clashing colours. Little appears of his days working underground and hauling newsprint. The way he painted his landscapes, his childhood friends and the travelling entertainers he met, shows that he had a sense of space and depth, which is quite rare in a naive painter. The one theme that seemed to obsess him throughout his life, which he painted again and again, was women. Whether through disinterest or through irrelevance to his composition he painted them without hands or with badly-formed hands; without faces, or merely ill-defined ones, concentrating instead on their voluptuous flesh. He liked to paint well-developed women whose charms he exaggerated exuberantly in his pictures.
He took part in collective exhibitions after 1927, when Wilhelm Uhde exhibited his work under the title Painters of the Sacré Cœur ( Peintres du Sacré Cœur), at the Galerie des Quatre-Chemins, with Rousseau, Vivin and Séraphine. This was followed by Modern Primitive Artists ( Primitifs modernes) at the Galerie Georges Bernheim, Paris, in 1932; in 1937 Andri-Farcy invited him to take part in an historic exhibition Popular Masters of Reality ( Maîtres populaires de la réalité); he appeared in Documenta 1 in Kassel. In 1964 he took part in The World of the Naive Artists ( Le Monde des Naïfs) at the Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris and in the mid-1960s his works were exhibited in America, several being purchased by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His first solo exhibition was in 1944 at the Galerie O. Pétridès in Paris.
After his death in 1970, he featured in many international exhibitions of primitive art, including Three Self-taught Naive Painters from the 1930s ( Trois peintres autodidactes, dits naïfs, des années 30) with Bauchant and Rimbert, at the art museum in Grenoble in 1980; in 1982, The Folk Art Tradition in New York; 1987, Folk Art of This Century in New York; 1992, Naive Visions in New York; 1993, The 'Outsider' Question in New York; 2003, From Rousseau to Ligabue. Naive? at the Palazzo Bricherasio, Turin. Solo exhibitions of his work were held in 1972 and 1978 in New York, and in 1981 in Paris.
Museum and Gallery Holdings:
Geneva (Petit Palais): Vincennes Wood (1928)
New York (MoMA)
Paris (MNAM-CCI): Circus Athlete (c. 1930); Chablis Bridge
- Creator:Camille Bombois (1883-1970, French)
- Creation Year:c.1920
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 37 in (93.98 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Very good condition - canvas wax lined for support.
- Gallery Location:Marlow, GB
- Reference Number:Seller: LFA05541stDibs: LU415315084322
About the Seller
5.0
Gold Seller
Premium sellers maintaining a 4.3+ rating and 24-hour response times
Established in 2001
1stDibs seller since 2016
705 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: <1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: Marlow, United Kingdom
- Return Policy
Authenticity Guarantee
In the unlikely event there’s an issue with an item’s authenticity, contact us within 1 year for a full refund. DetailsMoney-Back Guarantee
If your item is not as described, is damaged in transit, or does not arrive, contact us within 7 days for a full refund. Details24-Hour Cancellation
You have a 24-hour grace period in which to reconsider your purchase, with no questions asked.Vetted Professional Sellers
Our world-class sellers must adhere to strict standards for service and quality, maintaining the integrity of our listings.Price-Match Guarantee
If you find that a seller listed the same item for a lower price elsewhere, we’ll match it.Trusted Global Delivery
Our best-in-class carrier network provides specialized shipping options worldwide, including custom delivery.More From This Seller
View AllRade de Saint-Milo - Post Impressionist Seascape Oil Painting by Gustave Cariot
By Gustave Camille Gaston Cariot
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed and dated oil on panel seascape by French post impressionist painter Gustave Cariot. The work depicts a view of sail boats and steam boats out at sea in the bay of Saint-Malo ...
Category
1910s Post-Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Fishing Boats at Doelan - Post Impressionist Landscape Oil by Paul Madeline
By Paul Madeline
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed and dated oil on board landscape by French post impressionist painter Paul Madeline. This beautiful work depicts a view of the picturesque port of Doelan in Britanny, France. ...
Category
Early 1900s Post-Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Le plage de Morgat - Impressionist Seascape Landscape Oil by Maxime Maufra
By Maxime Maufra
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed and dated impressionist oil on panel seascape painting by French painter Maxime Maufra. This stunning work depicts the beach at Morgat in Brittany, northwest France. The cryst...
Category
1880s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
La Cote de Marseille - Post Impressionist Sea Landscape Oil by Louis Gaussen
By Adolphe Louis Gaussen
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed seascape oil on panel circa 1910 by French painter post impressionist painter Adolphe Louis Gaussen. The work depicts a view of the bright blue sea from a rocky shoreline on t...
Category
1910s Post-Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Construction du quai - Impressionist Landscape Oil Painting by Stanislas Lepine
By Stanislas Victor Édouard Lépine
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed impressionist figures in landscape oil on panel circa 1875 by French painter Stanislas Victor Edouard Lepine. The piece depicts depicts of a view of workers constructing the q...
Category
1870s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Grosse Mer - Etretat - Impressionist Seascape Landscape Oil by Maxime Maufra
By Maxime Maufra
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Impressionist oil on canvas seascape painting circa 1895 by French artist Maxime Maufra. This stunning work depicts a sailing boat on a vast ocean. The choppy water is painted in greens and blues. The white clouds rolling across the blue sky are beautifully shaded in purple tones.
Signature:
Signed lower left and titled on original label verso
Dimensions:
Framed: 22"x25"
Unframed: 15"x18"
Provenance:
This work is included in the catalogue raisonne of Maxime Maufra under reference 284
Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired directly from the artist on 5 April 1895)
Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York (acquired from the above in 1895)
Marlborough Fine Arts, Ltd., London (acquired after 1949)
Dr. Renate Davis, London (acquired from the above)
Lyon & Turnbull London, 28 November 2013, lot 111 (consigned by the above)
Private Collection, New York (acquired from the above sale)
Sotheby's New York, 15 November 2017, lot 101 (consigned by the above)
Maufra spent several years in England, notably in Liverpool, with his father, who wanted him to become a tradesman. He decided to take up painting instead and returned to France in 1883, attracting the attention of Octave Mirbeau in his very first exhibition, and subsequently being noticed by Frantz Jourdain in 1894 and Fontenais in 1901. In 1886, he successfully exhibited two seascapes at the Salon, following which he visited Brittany in 1890, making the acquaintance of Gauguin and Sérusier in Pont-Aven; he collaborated with them on the decoration of the Pouldu Inn in 1894. He maintained his acquaintance with the Nabis group artists Henry Moret and Gustave Loiseau. He travelled in l'Isère, Belgium, and Algeria (1913), as well as Paris, the Ile de France, Brittany and Normandy. From 1895, the Galerie Durand-Ruel assured the success of his work.
Maufra settled in Montmartre for about ten years during which he painted the old quarters of Paris, often around the church of St Séverin. He then turned to Brittany and Normandy for inspiration in keeping with a resolve to paint only from nature, his seascapes in particular finding favour. The influence of the Nabis on his work remains limited except in the 'synthetic' organisation of the composition. He was an admirer of Sisley and Pissarro, whose influence can be seen in his paintings. Maufra, like Valtat, went to some extent beyond Impressionism to become a forerunner of Fauvism in his use of colour.
An important retrospective exhibition of Maufra's work, prefaced by René Domergue, was organised in Paris around 1950. In 2001, his work was represented in the exhibition Painters and the Sarthe Region ( Les Peintres et la Sarthe) held at the Musée de la Reine Bérengère (for the 19th century) and the Abbaye de l'Épau (for the 20th century) at Le Mans. In 2003, his work appeared in the group exhibition Brittany, Land of Painters ( Bretagne, Terre des Peintres) at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Vannes.
Museum and Gallery Holdings:
Bergues: Seascapes
Boston: Dusk in Douarnenez; Departure of Fishing Boats
Buffalo: Transport Quittant Le Havre
Chicago: Douarnenez the Town of Light
Cholet: Flood
Cincinnati (AM): The Coast, Bay of Douarnenez (Vue de Douarnenez) (painting)
Helsinki: St-Guénolé
Le Havre: Moonrise in Brittany
Manchester: Springtime in Lavardin
Montpellier: Hills of Morgat
Mulhouse: Low Tide
Nantes (MBA): La Prairie d'Amont (1888, oil on canvas); Pointe du Raz; Heavy Swell; The Loir Dam in Poncé (oil on canvas)
Paris (Mus. d'Orsay): Brittany Landscape...
Category
1890s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
You May Also Like
French Seascape Oil Painting of Traditional Sailboats Moored in Calm Water
By Fanch Lel
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: French Seascape Oil Painting of Traditional Sailboats Moored in Calm Water
By Fanch Lel
Signed: Yes
Size: 12.75 x 16.25 inches (height x width)
Oil painting on board, unframed...
Category
20th Century Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil
Sailing Boat and Rowing Boat Arriving at The Harbour French Oil Painting
By Fanch Lel
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Boats Arriving at the Harbour
by Fanch Lel
Size: 15 x 18 inches (height x width)
Oil painting on board , unframed
Condition: Good condition overall with minor surface handling marks ...
Category
20th Century Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil
Antique French Impressionist Oil Painting Boat on River Scene Paul de Frick 1900
By Paul de Frick
Located in Portland, OR
Antique French Impressionist Oil on Panel by Paul de Frick, "Preparing the Boat for Voyage," Circa 1900
Antique oil painting by French Impressionist artist Paul de Frick (1864-1935),...
Category
Early 1900s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
'Tranquil Seas'. A signed antique oil painting seascape on canvas by Henri Arden
Located in St. Albans, GB
Henri Arden (1858 – 1917)
Picture Size: 20 x 24" (51 x 61cm)
Outside Frame Size: 27 x 31" (69 x 79cm)
Oil on Canvas
Signed bottom right
Free shipping
Arden was born to English pare...
Category
Early 20th Century Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil
$3,729 Sale Price
20% Off
Free Shipping
French Impressionist painting of a marina scene by René Fontayne
Located in London, GB
French Impressionist painting of a marina scene by René Fontayne
French, early 20th Century
Frame: Height 68.5cm, width 66cm, depth 6cm
Canvas: Height 50...
Category
Early 20th Century Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Vibrant French Harbor Scene Impressionist Oil Painting Sailboat Coastal Village
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Vibrant Harbor Scene
signed by J.Bredeche ( French School)
circa 1970's
oil on canvas, unframed
Canvas : 24 x 29 inches
Inscribed verso with an indistinct date
Provenance: private co...
Category
1970s Post-Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
More Ways To Browse
Antique French Newspaper
1960s Seascape
Country Lane Painting
1930s Circus Art
Barge Painting
Green Curtains
Folk Art Circus
Primitive French Folk Art
Antique French Curtains
Antique Wrestling
Farm Boy
Folk Art Painting Farm
Bureau 1970
1930 Bureau
Antique Farm Primitives
Petrides Art
Naive Farm Painting
Antique Strongman