Old Oil Painting by the French Barbizon School, Brittany Normandy, 19th Century

  
Hello, I am selling this painting, which measures 30 cm wide by 23 cm high, or 35 cm wide by 28 cm high including the frame. It is a very beautiful oil on panel, probably from the late 19th or early 20th century, unsigned. However, some time ago I came across an artwork online, since sold, with the same frame and the same painting style, signed at the bottom right, although I could not make out the signature, and with the mention “Dielette,” in the Manche department. There is therefore a very strong likelihood that the painting I am offering was made by the same artist (see the last photo for an overview of the painting in question). This painting therefore probably represents a view of Dielette, this time by the edge of a small lake, the essential composition of which was most likely created on site before being refined in the artist’s studio.

It gives off a great sense of calm. It shows all the energy characteristic of the best painters working from life, a particularly harmonious choice of colors, and a skill that shines through at every moment, especially in the sky and its rendering, with that certain something very true to life in the atmosphere it conveys, as well as occasional effects of relief here and there, all of which give the painting a strong personality. Despite signs of wear here and there, a few small cracks in places, nothing serious, and a few small impacts and minor superficial paint losses, the painting is in good, or even very good, condition. It appears to have benefited from a complete restoration, carried out with the greatest care and a strong desire to preserve the authenticity of the work, since I detected no retouching; proof of this is its varnish, its protective backing panel at the rear, probably added to reinforce the original, perhaps made of real wood, as well as the frame it was given, which is also in very good condition despite a few slight signs of wear here and there. A few minor touch-ups have been made to the frame since most of the photos were taken (see the second-to-last photo).

The photos were taken on a sunny afternoon, in a very well-lit room with natural light. The first photo is the most faithful to the actual appearance of the colors under these conditions. Please note, however, that computer or mobile phone screens other than mine, depending on their display settings, may alter the results more or less. With these elements in mind, you can nevertheless consider this image to be a sufficiently representative source of reality, once again under viewing conditions similar to those described above. Hand delivery is entirely possible if you come to collect it. For this to be taken into account, if the box is damaged, sufficiently so (it is up to you to determine this upon inspection) in any place whatsoever and/or opened, even partially, it is imperative that you ask the delivery person to note reservations if it is a shipment via La Poste, or that you refuse the parcel at the relay point staff if it is a parcel locker or pickup-point delivery, UNLESS, and you should ask them about this, you have the option of entering reservations using the barcode scanner for shipping labels—in that case you may then accept the parcel—before they scan the shipping label or carry out any other operation confirming that you have indeed collected the parcel; in other words, ask them to carefully inspect the condition of the box, without omitting any area, in both cases before they proceed. In the case of a pickup-point delivery, if you refuse receipt, the parcel will be kept by the relay point in order to be returned to the inspection service, for verification aimed at establishing the responsibility of the delivery personnel and making the insurance effective (information gathered from their website) in the event the item is damaged.

As for La Poste, if delivery is made to your mailbox because the parcel’s dimensions allow it, and therefore without hand delivery, and if the box is damaged sufficiently (the extent of which is up to you to determine), you must take it to the nearest post office without opening it, and ask the staff at the counter to return the parcel to me (information gathered from their website), again in anticipation of a review by the delivery service, UNLESS, as in the case of delivery to a pickup point, the postal staff can note reservations. In all cases, do not hesitate to take photos of the damaged and/or opened box. You may think, for any reason, that the item inside the box remains in perfect condition despite the parcel being damaged sufficiently (again, it is up to you to determine this upon inspection) and/or opened, even partially, and therefore choose not to make reservations, or accept the parcel if making reservations is not possible; but be aware that this amounts to playing Russian roulette, since delivery services rely on the possibility of error, which, incidentally, suits them very well because, I repeat, the insurance is then no longer valid due to damage, because of the sacred transfer of responsibility from the carrier to the sender or recipient; less expense for them, therefore, since they will not have to pay out the insurance amount! And do not rely on “shaking” the parcel to determine whether the item is broken; unless it is made of glass or ceramic, the sound of breakage is imperceptible, or it may simply be a protective element inside the parcel.

Make sure to communicate all of this if someone else is collecting the parcel on your behalf. If, however, the condition of the returned item differs from what it was when I sent it, but no proof can establish that the delivery personnel are responsible, then there will be no refund, because even with excellent packaging, it can happen not only that shocks during transport are extremely severe, but also that this occurs without external damage, meaning to the box.

Things that may not have happened during the initial shipment, and which might have been avoided if the buyer had collected the parcel and thus prevented a second transport, theoretically involving twice as much risk for the item. If you have any questions or would like more photos, please feel free to let me know. PS: I have other paintings on my profile.