Offered by Galerie Delvaille
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French furniture of the 18th century & French figurative paintings
Pair of oil paintings on panels, both signed below
Dimensions: H. 40 x W. 26.8 cm (with frame: H. 68 x W. 54 cm)
Original panels - Perfect condition
Napoleon III style frames
François Lanfant was born in Moselle, eastern France, in 1814. He died in Le Havre in 1892. The artist always followed his surname “Lanfant” with the words "de Metz" to indicate his origin. His teacher was Ary Scheffer (1795-1858), the great painter of the French Romantic School. Scheffer quickly recognized Lanfant's extraordinary talent for drawing. From 1843 to 1866, Lanfant de Metz exhibited successfully at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris.
Lanfant de Metz's brushwork is both lively and precise. The attitudes of the characters he sketches are full of life and veracity. His palette is very colorful, as he likes to play with children's clothes to make his genre scenes shimmer.
The artist is undoubtedly the French painter of the 19th century who treated the theme of childhood with the most emotion and delicacy. He portrayed the carefree, mischievous nature of children. His genre scenes are sometimes humorous, and always perfectly illustrate the spirit of the 19th century.
THESE WORKS ARE RARE IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE: they are a true pair of paintings, of exactly the same dimensions, and with complementary subjects. What's more, these two oil paintings are much larger than Lanfant de Metz's usual small formats. The number of characters and the truculence of their activities place these works among the artist's most exceptional. Also noteworthy is the absolutely perfect state of conservation of this pair, executed on superb solid mahogany panels, an excellent support that does not deteriorate over time. At the end of the 19th century, the use of such expensive supports was reserved for artists who were successful during their lifetime and could afford them.
