François Gall

Les Grands Boulevards - Paris

Circa 1950s

'Landscape with Two Bathers', oil on panel, by Guillaume Dulac (circa 1920s). Dulac's oils and drawings manifest an elegant classicism with an immediately identifiable style. It is these qualities which are so attractive both aesthetically and in the context as an investment in fine art. Our gallery holds virtually the entire remaining collection of Guillaume Dulac's sketches and memorabilia with impeccable provenance. In this acquisition of a Dulac oil painting, one finds a depiction of two women, one of them in the nude, seated on the edge of a bathing pool. The other is peacefully seated on a comfortable boulder stone...

'Winter in Provence', gouache on art paper, by Raymond Debiève (circa 1970s). There is both beauty and melancholy in this delightfully charming artwork. The artist's naive style is at odds with the refinement, poise and sophistication of the painting. Perhaps the artist was making a statement as well with the broken wall...

'Parc des Buttes-Chaumont' in Paris, gouache on art paper, by Lucien Génin (circa 1930s). A charming depiction of well turned out Parisians enjoying a day at the park. Boaters, strollers and swans all co-mingle around the peaceful lake. The reflection of the rocky bluff in the water is superbly treated by Génin. It's a cheerful and uplifting image of days-gone-by in 1930s Paris. The park takes its name from the 'bare hill' (chauve-mont) that once occupied the site. It became a place where gypsum was mined, and where the limestone was quarried to be used in buildings in Paris and the United States. Worse, though, it was a site that also became a dumping ground. Luckily, during the 19th-century renovation of Paris under Napoleon III, chauve-mont was chosen as a place for a large park, as part of the emperor's fascination with endowing Paris with green spaces. The artificial lake created at that time wraps around a hilly central island. The lake attracts waterfowl and other birds and is stocked with fish. The 19th-century planners cleaned up the site and added tons of soil to fill the pits left by a limestone mining operation. Then dynamite was used to "sculpt" the site into the craggy shapes seen today, including the 50-metre-high central hill with cliffs, an interior grotto, pinnacles, and arches. Up on top, overlooking the rest of the park - and depicted in this artwork - is a small, round belvedere, based on the Roman Temple of Vesta in Italy. From that spot you can see a lovely view of Montmartre and the white cupolas of the Sacre-Coeur. The painting is in very good condition. It has been newly framed and glazed with museum-quality glass (anti-reflective and UV protection) to preserve this significant artwork for decades to come. Dimensions with frame: H 62 cm / 24.4" W 76 cm / 29.9" Dimensions without frame: H 48.5 cm / 19.1" W 63 cm / 24.8" About the Artist: After the devastation of the First World War, Lucien Génin (1894 - 1953) left his provincial home in the autumn of 1919 to find his fortune among the lively Parisians in the heart of Montmartre. Génin befriended the painters Frank Will, Gen Paul, Émile Boyer, Marcel Leprin...

'Portrait of a Bird in Snow', oil on board, by Anna Costa (circa 1960s). This is a unique still-life painted by the artist in warm colours in an Impressi...