French Impressionist Oil Painting of a Roulotte Caravan on a Country Road, 1943, by Listed Artist Fernand Laval (1886-1966)

Wonderful French oil on canvas by listed Paris painter Fernand Laval, signed and dated 1943. A painted green roulotte, the traveling caravan of the fairground and Romani families of France, rests at the edge of a rutted country road beneath a stand of bare silver birches. A woman in a yellow shawl and a little girl stand in the open doorway, a man tends a fire beside the wooden steps, and a horse grazes on the verge while a lone house keeps watch from the hilltop. Laval's thick, sculptural brushwork turns the muddy road into a tapestry of rose, ochre and violet beneath a billowing grey and white sky. Recorded in the artprice auction archive as "Roulotte sur le chemin" (Caravan on the Road), and still bearing its original French auction label on the stretcher. Signed lower left "F. LAVAL." Presented in a molded giltwood frame with a softly worn gilt finish, ready to hang! Price includes shipping!

About the artist: Fernand Laval (1886-1966) was born in the Dordogne and arrived in Paris at the age of 26 to study painting. In Montmartre he befriended Maurice Utrillo, and the two painted the streets of the Butte side by side. From 1920 he exhibited regularly at the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Indépendants, and from 1927 to 1929 he traveled and exhibited in the Netherlands and Brussels. Back in Paris he painted Montmartre, the Canal Saint-Martin and Les Halles, along with the caravans and roulottes that became one of his favorite subjects.

KEY FEATURES

• Artist: Fernand Laval (1886-1966)
• Medium: Oil on canvas
• Style: French Impressionist, with thick, sculptural brushwork
• Subject: A roulotte caravan on a country road, recorded as "Roulotte sur le chemin"
• Signature: Signed lower left "F. LAVAL"
• Frame: Molded wood frame with a softly worn gilt finish
• Provenance: Original French auction label on the stretcher; believed sold at Martinot-Savignat in 2006

DETAILS

• Country: France
• Condition: Very Good
• Year: 1943
• Dimensions: H 33.75" x W 40.5" x D 1.5"