A lovely Oil on Panel Painting of a Snow Scene at the Claville Motteville Castle by French Painter Albert Malet.
Born in Bosc le Hard, north of Rouen in 1912, Malet began painting at the age of 19, benefiting from the advice of his illustrious teacher, Robert Antoine Pinchon, himself a pupil of Albert Lebourg (two masters of the Rouen school).
A talented colorist and luminist, Malet captures on canvas the fleeting atmosphere and fluctuating colors of his subjects.
Setting up his easel in the Normandy countryside, he knew how to allow himself to be immersed in places, the better to transcribe them.
His motto was “See everything, feel everything”
From 1942 onwards, he exhibited at the Salon de l’Ecole Française in Paris, then at the Galerie Legrip in Rouen, and abroad in Algeria, Germany, Japan…
He died in Rouen in 1986.
He is considered the last of the French Impressionists.
Albert Malet, standing in the snow, captures the last ray of sunlight that sets the roofs of the Château de Claville-Motteville ablaze, a small town in Normandy, north of Rouen.
In a very tight composition, bordered on the left by conifer branches, the artist chose to depict the Château in the background, behind a series of trunks reaching towards the sky, adding verticality to the composition.
In the foreground, the snow retains the tracks of passing vehicles, situating us in the season.
The Château itself seems ghostly, enveloped in this mauve mist, warmed only by this ray of sunlight.
Its rooftops and treetops dart about, creating these vibrant orange tones.
It is a moving and intimate work, reflecting the romantic character of Albert Malet.
Oil on panel, backed with canvas, signed lower left, titled and countersigned on the reverse, presented in a gilt and patinated wooden frame.
Unframed 10.5 x 8.5 inches
Framed 16 x 14 inches