A Lively Oil on Canvas painting of the Arsenal Basin by Gustave Madelain.
True to his reputation as a painter of Paris, Madelain offers us this lively view of the Bassin de l’Arsenal, with the de Mornay footbridge and the July Column towering above the Place de la Bastille.
In pure Impressionist style, the artist has placed a vast expanse of unoccupied water in the foreground, forming a chevron in the direction of the footbridge to add depth to his composition.
Small strokes of different colors create the movement of the water’s surface, reflecting the warm colors of the riverbanks, in contrast to the stormy, turbulent sky, treated in broad, flat strokes.
The sky occupies almost half the picture in this composition.
By the importance given to the sky, the painter aimed to convey the special atmosphere of a thunderstorm that was coming or had just passed.
It is a very fine composition by this artist, reflecting his mastery of capturing the atmosphere of the moment.
Born in Charly, Aisne, west of Paris, in 1876 Gustave Madelain specialized in views of riverbanks, particularly those of the Seine.
A landscape painter, he established himself as a Post Impressionist Painter and his paintings of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris are today considered precious witnesses to the past.
He exhibited in Paris from 1907 until the end of his career. He passed away in 1944.
Original oil on canvas, signed lower right, presented in a period gilded wood frame.
15″ X 18″ Unframed
18″ X 21″ Framed