Old Painting Oil HST French School Fruit Vegetable Gilded Frame 19th Century

  

Hello, I am selling this painting with a height of 47 cm and a width of 60 cm when considering just the artwork, and 64 cm by 76 cm when including its frame. It is a beautiful oil on canvas, signed in the lower left corner with something that resembles "Pierrot," which is also written on the back of the frame with a capital letter M. The artist is likely French since the canvas used has the number 12 on the back, corresponding to a measurement of the various types of frames available in our country. I have no information about this artist, who is, however, very talented. Regarding its dating, I seriously lean towards the second half of the 19th century, given the style of the composition, the natural wear present on the wood of the frame, and the color of the back of the canvas.

It is a particularly rich and colorful still life, where fruits and vegetables blend in an atmosphere of incredible rusticity and authenticity, capable of providing the observer with a deep sense of reconnection with the values of the land and a bygone era, where agriculture relied on manual labor through a passage of time made of slowness and frugality. Even this hand-woven tablecloth possesses something genuinely true. The ears of wheat and the strands of straw here and there reinforce the feeling that the painter had just harvested his "models" at the moment of their representation; the freshness of the scene makes it even more beautiful. The whole is magnified by the artist's real talent, observable through a judicious placement of the different elements, great mastery in the lines and rendering of textures (special mention to those of the large squash and the peppers), great harmony in the colors, and welcome details, for example, the reflection of the onion in the large green bottle. Despite slight traces of alteration here and there, in the form of numerous more or less small cracks, which are of no concern and are guarantees of an authentic painting, and some discreet slight losses of paint here and there, the composition is in good to very good condition for its age and has undergone restoration, visible in certain photos (only visible with certain reflections in reality), and a varnishing, in my opinion, done with a liquid satin varnish, giving it beautiful reflections without being excessive, and protection. The frame, magnificent with its massive and intricate patterns, is in generally good condition despite some discreet losses, some areas where restorations have been made, and a gilding that is not entirely uniform, with occasional signs of wear and/or uneven shine.

I have not noticed any areas where an element might risk detaching soon. The painting holds well in its frame, and the tension of the canvas is excellent. The photos were taken on a sunny afternoon in a very well-lit room. After many tests, I realized that the color rendering in the second photo, with my equipment, is the one that most faithfully represents what can be observed under similar conditions, regardless of the distance.

However, please note that computer or phone screens other than mine, depending on their brightness and contrast, may alter the results I have achieved to some extent; keeping these elements in mind, you can still consider this snapshot as a sufficiently representative source of reality, once again under similar observation conditions. The gold of the frame is closer in reality to what appears in the third photo. Attention collectors, those attracted to vintage items, curiosities, decorative objects, or simply admirers of their intrinsic beauty! This is an excellent gift idea.

IMPORTANT: The package is bulky, which is why it can only be delivered to your home. To ensure that this is taken into account, it is imperative that if the box is damaged, sufficiently (it is up to you to determine this upon inspection) in any place whatsoever, and/or open, even partially, you ask the delivery person to indicate reservations, if it is a shipment with the Post, or that you refuse the package with the staff at the pickup point, if it is a shipment to a pickup point, UNLESS, you will thus need to ask them, you have the ability to note reservations with the scanning device of the shipping receipts - then you can receive the package - before they scan the shipping receipt or perform any other operation confirming that you have indeed collected the package; in other words, ask to thoroughly check the condition of the box, leaving no area unexamined, in both cases before they act. Regarding delivery to a pickup point, if your refusal to accept is stated, the package will be kept by the pickup point to be returned to the expertise service for verification in order to report the responsibility of the delivery personnel and to make the insurance effective (elements gathered from their site) in case the object is damaged. Regarding the Post, if delivery takes place in your mailbox because the dimensions of the package allow it, thus without personal delivery, and the box is sufficiently damaged (a nuance you need to determine), you will need to return it to the nearest postal point without opening it, asking the counter staff to return the package to me (elements collected from their site), also in anticipation of a delivery service verification, UNLESS, as in the case of delivery to a pickup point, the staff at the postal office can indicate reservations. In any case, do not hesitate to take photos of the damaged and/or open box.

You might think, for any reason, that the object inside the box remains in perfect condition, despite the damaged box, sufficiently (it is up to you to determine this upon inspection), and/or open, even partially, and thus you do not ask to make reservations, or that you accept the package if making reservations is not possible; but know that this is akin to playing Russian roulette since delivery services rely on the factor of error, which suits them well since, I repeat, the insurance is then no longer effective due to the sacred transfer of responsibility from the delivery person to the sender or the recipient; thus, fewer expenses for them since they will not have to pay the insurance amount! And do not count on a "shake" of the package to determine if the object is broken; unless it is made of glass or ceramic, the sound of breakage is imperceptible, or it could be a protective element inside the package.

Be sure to communicate all these elements if it is a third party who will be picking up the package on your behalf. If, however, the condition of the returned object is different from the one it had at the time I sent it, but no evidence allows determining that the delivery personnel are responsible, then there will be no refund, for the reason that even with excellent packaging, it can happen that not only the shocks during transport are extremely significant but also that this occurs without external damages, that is to say, on the box.

These issues may not have happened during the initial shipment and might have been avoided if the buyer had picked up the package and thus prevented a second transport, theoretically involving twice the risks for the object. A personal handover is entirely possible if you make the trip.

If you have questions or desire more photos, do not hesitate to let me know. PS: I have other paintings on my profile.