Antique Oil Painting, French Barbizon School, Brittany, Normandy, 19th Century

  

Hello, I am offering this painting for sale. It measures 30 cm wide by 23 cm high, or 35 cm wide by 28 cm high including the frame.

This is a very beautiful oil painting on panel, probably dating from the late 19th or early 20th century. However, some time ago I saw a painting online, since sold, with the same frame and painting style.

It was signed in the lower right corner, although I could not make out the signature, and bore the inscription “Dielette,” a place in the Manche department of France. There is therefore a very strong likelihood that the painting I am offering was created by the same artist. Please see the last photo for a view of the painting in question.

This painting probably depicts a view of Dielette, this time beside a small lake. Most of the composition was likely painted on location before being finished in the artist’s studio. It conveys a wonderful sense of tranquillity. It has all the energy characteristic of the finest artists working directly from nature, a particularly harmonious choice of colours, and a mastery evident throughout. This is especially apparent in the rendering of the sky, with its remarkably true-to-life atmosphere, as well as in the touches of raised texture here and there. Together, these qualities give the painting a strong character.

Despite some wear here and there, minor cracking in places that is not serious, a few small knocks, and minor superficial paint losses, the painting is in good, if not very good, condition. It appears to have undergone a thorough restoration, carried out with great care and a clear desire to preserve the work’s authenticity, as I have not noticed any retouching. Evidence of this care includes the varnish, the protective panel on the back—probably added to reinforce the original panel and possibly made of solid wood—and the frame chosen for it. The frame is also in very good condition, despite a few minor signs of wear here and there. A few small touch-ups have been made to the frame since most of the photos were taken; please see the second-to-last photo.

The photos were taken on a sunny afternoon in a room well lit by natural light. The first photo is the most faithful to the painting’s actual colours under those conditions. Please bear in mind, however, that computer and mobile phone screens other than my own may display the images somewhat differently, depending on their settings. With this in mind, you can nevertheless regard that photo as a reasonably accurate representation of the painting, provided it is viewed under conditions similar to those described above.

Collection in person is certainly possible if you are able to travel here.

For insurance cover to apply, it is essential that you follow the instructions below if the shipping box is sufficiently damaged anywhere—you will need to judge the extent of the damage when inspecting it—and/or has been opened, even partially.

If the parcel is delivered by La Poste, you must ask the delivery person to formally record the damage or opening of the box.

If the parcel is delivered to a collection point, you must refuse it, UNLESS the staff can formally record the damage or opening using their parcel-scanning device.

You must ask them whether this is possible. If they can record it, you may then accept the parcel, but the damage must be recorded before they scan the shipping label or take any other action confirming that you have collected it.

In other words, in either situation, ask to inspect the entire box carefully, without overlooking any part of it, before the delivery person or collection-point staff confirm receipt.

For delivery to a collection point, if you refuse the parcel, it will be held there and returned to the inspection service. It will then be checked to establish the delivery company’s responsibility and allow the insurance to apply if the item is damaged. This information was gathered from their website.

If La Poste delivers the parcel directly to your letterbox because it is small enough, rather than handing it to you in person, and the box is sufficiently damaged—you will need to assess this yourself—you must take it to your nearest post office without opening it. Ask the counter staff to return the parcel to me so that the delivery service can inspect it. This information also comes from their website. The exception, as with delivery to a collection point, is if the post office staff can formally record the damage.

In all cases, do not hesitate to take photographs of the damaged and/or opened box.

For whatever reason, you may think that the item inside is still in perfect condition despite the box being sufficiently damaged and/or opened, even partially.

You may therefore choose not to ask for the damage to be formally recorded, or to accept the parcel when this cannot be done. However, please understand that this amounts to playing Russian roulette. Delivery companies rely on people making mistakes, which conveniently works in their favour: as I have said, the insurance will no longer cover the damage because of the all-important transfer of responsibility from the delivery company to the sender or recipient.

This means less expense for them, since they will not have to pay out the insured amount!

Do not rely on shaking the parcel to determine whether the item is broken, either.

Unless the item is made of glass or ceramic, you may not hear any sign of breakage. Any noise you do hear could also come from protective packaging inside the box.

Please make sure that all these instructions are passed on to anyone collecting the parcel on your behalf.

If, however, a returned item is in a different condition from when I sent it, and there is no evidence establishing that the delivery company is responsible, no refund will be issued. Even with excellent packaging, an item can suffer extremely severe impacts during transport without any visible damage to the outside of the box. Such damage might not have occurred during the initial shipment and might have been avoided if the buyer had accepted the parcel, thereby preventing a second journey, which theoretically doubles the risk to the item.

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