Mid-Century French Impressionist Oil Painting of Sailboats in a Harbor, Signed Gautier

Sunny French impressionist oil painting of sailing boats gathered in a calm harbor, signed lower left "Gautier." A white-hulled sloop under tall cream sails leads the scene, with a fishing boat under ochre canvas beside her and a dark-hulled boat with sea-green sails moored at the right. Two fishermen row their small boats across the shimmering water, and a low shoreline of houses stretches along the horizon beneath a summer sky of drifting pink and white clouds. Price includes shipping! From the South of France. 

The painter built up the water in thick, sculptural strokes of blue, turquoise and cream, so the surface catches the light much as the sea does. The colored sails and sturdy hulls recall the working fishing fleets of France's coast in the first half of the 20th century. Presented in a dark stained wood frame with a white painted inner liner, it's a generous, light-filled marine painting that would bring the seaside into a living room, a coastal home or a sunny entryway.

About the artist: The painting is signed "Gautier," with the first initial woven into the G. Several French painters shared the name, and we have not been able to identify which one painted this harbor scene, so we offer it as a signed work of the French school, painted around the middle of the 20th century.

KEY FEATURES

• Artist: Signed "Gautier" (French school)
• Style / Movement: Impressionist, with rich impasto
• Subject: Sailing and fishing boats in a sunlit harbor
• Signature: Signed lower left "Gautier"

DETAILS

• Country: France
• Condition: Good (see photos for craquelure)
• Year: Early-Mid 20th Century
• Dimensions: H 25.75" x W 37.75" x D 1.5"