Old Painting Oil Barbizon School Attributed 19th Century Mountain Church Pyrenees

  

Hello, I am putting this painting up for sale. It measures 63 cm wide by 48 cm high, or 70 cm by 55 cm including the frame. It is a superb oil on panel, signed at the bottom right E.

Brantonne and dated 95 for 1995.

It depicts a village whose central position in this wide, panoramic view gives it the charming impression of having been placed right there, in the middle of a surrounding, rolling landscape dominated by snow-covered mountains.

It is a village that strongly reminds me of those found at the foot of the Pyrenees, especially in the Pays de la Neste, where I have regularly gone on holiday since childhood, several times a year.

Anyone who connects with this evocation of a bygone era, and yet one that still lives on deep within us, will not remain indifferent, as I was not, to the deep sense of nostalgia that emerges from this work at every moment.

It is a return to the roots of an essential part of rural France, in its most authentic and timeless form, resisting the passage of time, whether willingly or not. It conveys something intangible that I would call History and Heritage: a stroll through these streets, more or less narrow, here covered with grayish stones of a typical hue, there dominated by slate roofs; these other remnants of past centuries, the girls’ school/boys’ school, the town hall restored, certainly, but whose intrinsic structure, the stone staircase railing, worn over time by the weight of hundreds of schoolchildren who sat there during recess, remain, not far from the church, which has been, is, and will remain a welcome landmark, and even more, a landmark in time.

Let us emphasize the remarkable quality of the execution, with a certain realism, a very harmonious choice of colors, welcome painterly effects, and genuine attention to many details. Despite some signs of wear here and there, light and not serious, a few small black horizontal or vertical marks in places—I do not know what they are, but they are of no concern and only visible up close—as well as a few retouches, quite well done, discreet at close range and almost invisible from two or three meters away, the painting is in good, even very good condition.

The frame is also in good overall condition despite some light signs of wear, a few small spots and bits of dirt, and has wood with a beautiful chromatic depth, sometimes even showing lovely grain. The panel itself seems to be in excellent condition despite a few small brown spots, which I believe can easily be removed with proper cleaning. The whole piece is ready to hang thanks to a cord that seems very sturdy.

The photos were taken in natural light on a sunny afternoon, in a very well-lit room. The first two are sufficiently faithful to the actual appearance of the colors under these same conditions, although reasonable differences may occur depending on your interior lighting and the display settings of the screen you use to view the listing. Please note that some “unsightly” effects appear, such as slight streaks, especially in the second photo; these effects are absolutely not present in reality.

Hand delivery is entirely possible if you are able to travel. For this to be taken into account, it is essential that if the parcel is damaged in any way, sufficiently so (it is up to you to determine this upon inspection), and/or opened, even partially, you ask the delivery person to note reservations if it is a postal shipment, or refuse the parcel at the relay point staff if it is a relay-point shipment, UNLESS you have the option of entering reservations using the shipping label scanning device—in that case, you may then accept the parcel—before they scan the shipping label or perform any other operation confirming that you have collected the parcel.

In other words, make sure you check the condition of the box carefully, leaving nothing out, in both cases before they proceed.

For a relay-point delivery, if you refuse receipt, the parcel will be kept by the relay point and returned for inspection, in order to verify the carrier’s responsibility and activate the insurance (information gathered from their website) if the item has been damaged. In the case of La Poste, if the delivery is made to your mailbox because the parcel is small enough, and therefore without hand delivery, and the box is sufficiently damaged (the extent is up to you to determine), you must take it unopened to the nearest post office and ask the staff at the counter to return the parcel to me (information gathered from their website), again in anticipation of a delivery service review, UNLESS, as in the relay-point case, 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 sufficiently damaged and/or opened, even partially, and therefore choose not to make reservations, or accept the parcel if reservations are not possible; but be aware that this is like playing Russian roulette, since delivery services rely on the possibility of error, which also suits them very well because, I repeat, the insurance is then no longer effective due to damage, because of the sacred transfer of responsibility from the carrier to the sender or recipient. That means fewer expenses for them, 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 glass or ceramic, the sound of breakage is imperceptible, or it may simply be a protective element inside the parcel. Please make sure to communicate all this if someone else is collecting the parcel on your behalf.

If, however, the condition of the returned item differs from the condition it was in when I sent it, but there is no proof that the carriers are responsible, then there will be no refund, because even with excellent packaging, transport shocks can be extremely severe and, in addition, this can happen without any external damage to the box. Such things may not have happened during the initial shipment, and may perhaps have been avoided if the buyer had collected the parcel and thus prevented a second transport, theoretically involving twice the risk for the item.

If you have any questions or would like more photos, please feel free to let me know. I have other paintings on my profile.