A gorgeous Oil on Canvas painting of A Raven on A Fence by French painter Marcel Dyf.
Born Marcel Israël Dreyfus in Paris in 1899, he came from a family of industrialists from Alsace.
Although he showed an early aptitude for drawing and painting, the young Marcel pursued serious engineering studies at the ‘Arts et Métiers’ school.
He began a career as an engineer, but, driven by his passion, he decided to devote himself to art full-time and become a painter.
He settled in Arles, in the south of France, and painted the surrounding landscapes.
Despite being self-taught, the quality of his work captivated viewers, his reputation grew rapidly, leading to public commissions.
Art dealers and collectors took an interest in his work, and he participated in major Parisian exhibitions, such as the ‘Salon des Artistes Français’, the ‘Salon des Tuileries’, and the ‘Salon d’Automne’, which were essential gatherings for prominent artists.
In 1935, he set up a studio in Paris, dividing his time between the south of France and the capital.
However, the Second World War interrupted his plans.
Marcel joined the Resistance, fighting the invaders from the ‘maquis’ (underground resistance camps) in Corrèze.
After the war, he resumed his artistic career and established a studio in Cannes.
In 1954, he met a young model who posed for him. Claudine became his muse and, after years of a close partnership, his wife.
The couple traveled extensively, journeying across the globe.
As a recognized and acclaimed artist, he was the subject of numerous exhibitions in England, Canada, the USA, Germany, and elsewhere.
Marcel Dyf passed away at his home in Bois-d’Arcy in 1985.
Our painting depicts a snowy scene featuring a raven perched on a fence as its central subject.
Snow scenes are very rare in Dyf’s body of work; he painted only a few of them.
The highly balanced composition creates a parallel between the two sides of the canvas.
On the left, a cluster of trees stretches out branches bared by winter.
The brushwork is spirited and precise, there is no room for second thoughts here.
One can trace the artist’s every movement in the lines of the branches.
The paint is thick, the colors overlapping…
On the right, the treatment is finer and more disciplined, the lines are straighter and more orderly; the fence, the house, and the human hand are evident in this rectitude.
A solitary crow stands out against the background, perched on a fence, a black silhouette against a white backdrop.
This black point acts as a focal point, catching the eye before allowing it to wander across the canvas.
In a style that is quintessentially Impressionist, the thick application of paint preserves the visible traces of the brushstrokes.
The subject is suggested rather than meticulously detailed, set within a palpable winter atmosphere.
A magnificent painting with an unusual composition by Marcel Dyf.
A master landscape artist, he successfully captured this fleeting moment in the heart of winter.
His sensitivity and delicacy shine through in his artistic expression.
Oil on original canvas; signed lower left; location and countersignature on the reverse; presented in a gilded Louis XIV-style frame.
Unframed: 18 x 22 inches
Framed: 26 x 29 inches