CONTINENTAL SCHOOL (19th Century) "Cottage by a Lake on a Stormy Day." Signed indistinguishably, L.L. Oil on board, 71/2" x 5" (sight); 11½" x 9" (framed).

This small gem of a landscape carries a mystery, as it signed by a bold hand, but the signature is illegible. As such, it cannot be attributed. Stylistically, the work may well be French, dating from the Barbizon era (1850s-80s), but even that is uncertain. Like several artists of the period, this skillful painter used a dark, stormy sky to contrast the bright center of interest in the painting, which is the peak of a humble cottage. At the same time, the eye is directed by light falling on the pathway in the foreground towards the lake and to a tiny sailboat in the distance. The lush palette and broad, loose brush strokes suggest an accomplished painter at ease with his (or her) material, and the amount of detail in the miniature landscape is impressive. Offered in what probably is its original frame, which bears some scuffs.

Art in the Afternoon, L.L.C.
P.O. Box 620066
Middleton, WI 53562
608-469-2994; 608-836-6454
info@artintheafternoon.net