PORTRAITS OF FRANCE

Portraits of France

A Celebration of Impressionists and Modern Landscape Paintings

Gladwells Rutland are excited to invite you to view our collection of French Impressionist and Modern landscape artists, currently on display in our wonderful new gallery in the heart of the country.

This is a period of French art in which we have long specialised and delight in its increasing popularity and recognition. Our experience in the area has allowed us to draw together an extraordinary body of work which epitomises the brilliance of the French painters of the first half of the 20th century as they build on the inheritance of Sisley and Monet. Their exploration of the distinctive shapes and motifs of the French countryside in all its lyricism continues through the thick application of paint and the vivid use of colour. Lustrous light and the luminous effect of water weave as a theme whist we see the emerging emphasis on soft natural forms and reflections to great effect.

In this exhibition the vivid colours in the south of France shimmer and blur in Henri Le Sidaner's ‘Le Matin, Villefranche-Sur-Mer’. George Charles Robin applies a more delicate touch to his pastoral scenes of rural France with its winding river valleys and rustic silhouettes so symbolic in popular imagination. Alexandre Jacob and his radiant evocation of water has long been a favourite of ours and we love to see him hung juxtaposed with Pierre Montezin. All masters of their time.

In a month where we feel the seasons shift it seemed apt to celebrate a school of artists who themselves represent a period in the 20th century which paved the way for the modern French landscape. Painted “en plein air”  their freshness jumps from the canvas for our enjoyment of their timeless beauty.