Old oil painting on canvas Signed Octave GUENARD (1845-1934)

  

Woman crossing a bridge with her wheelbarrow. Signed at the bottom right. 1 snag on the left, a scratch at the bottom right.

Artist listed in the Bénézit. Biography: born in Amiens on May 21, 1845, Octave GUENARD belonged to a wealthy and industrious family of spinners. He remained very independent in his position throughout his life and only practiced the art of painting for his pleasure, refusing to sell anything. From his childhood and adolescence, Octave Guenard showed great aptitude for drawing and undoubtedly benefited from the lessons of the Amiens artist and friend of Jules Verne, Gédéon Baril. Serious studies becoming necessary in Paris, he set up his studio there around 1870, learning from landscape artists Didier Ponget and Adrien Sauzay. Later, as he matured, he participated in the official salons of Paris, Marseille, and Bordeaux to receive praise-worthy rewards. A traveling painter, seeking the emotion in the spectacle of nature, he settled in Sologne, in Côte d'Or ("View of the city" bought by the museum of Semur-en-Auxois), in Brittany (Dahouet), but also in Ault or Mers where he had a pied-à-terre.