Forest View

19th century French School oil on parquet board signed by Amédée Rosier (1831-1914). The artwork is smooth to the touch.

A landscape with a low perspective where the forest seems to crush both daylight and the horizon with its weight. In this painting Rosier demonstrates his expertise as a light engineer by trying to transcribe light as its filtered by nature. As a precursor to Impressionism, this movement of luminosity is shown through shadows and foliage. At first sight the landscape may seem gloomy, but on further examination, we can see the artist's virtuosity in letting light appear in a natural flow and allowing it to illuminate the essential—nothing more.

About the artist: Étienne Amédée Rosier was a French Orientalist painter and one of the masters of marine painting. He was born on August 27, 1831 in Meaux (Paris region) and died on November 5, 1914 in Boulogne-Billancourt (Paris region).

Rosier studied in the Beaux-Arts in Paris with professors Carolus-Duran and Léon Cogniet who also taught Edgar Degas, Jean-Paul Laurens, and Rosa Bonheur.

At age 26 he presented his first historical marine work with Le combat naval à Sébastopol at the 1857 Salon. After that, he produced a large number of coastal and port paintings. His numerous travels to Istanbul, Venice, Constantinople and North Africa were a deep source of inspiration in drawing boats or creating sumptuous touch-painting, always with extraordinary depth and an a great eye for details. He was awarded at the Salon and several of his works are now in French museums.

• Overall size: 12.9" x 15.3" / 33cm x 39.5cm.
• Size without the frame: 9.8" x 12.5" / 25.5cm x 32cm. 
• Provenance: France. 
• Signed: Amédée Rosier (1831-1914).
• Date: Late 19th century. 
• Condition: The panel is in very good condition. The sculpted frame is in very good condition despite some small gaps and impacts due to time.
• Materials: Oil on wood parquet board.
• Shipping: Free Worldwide DHL Express to USA & Europe (otherwise free shipping via Colissimo).