Framed Oil, Landscape with Tiled Houses, Att to Frédéric Henri EDELMANN

Attributed to Frédéric Henri EDELMANN (20th century)

Landscape with Tiled Houses

Oil on canvas. Signed “Frédéric Henri” lower left

Canvas - 46 x 38 cm

Framed - 45 x 52 cm

A group of farmhouses with red-tiled roofs sits on the crest of a sunlit hill, under a pale blue sky streaked with thin white cloud. A tall poplar rises up the right-hand edge of the canvas and frames the view. In the foreground, a rounded green bush leads the eye up the golden slope towards the buildings.

The painting is direct and economical. The houses are built from simple blocks of colour, the trees from a few broad strokes, and in places the canvas shows through the thin paint. This simplified, structured way of painting landscape owes much to Cézanne, and it suggests a date in the first half of the 20th century. The warm palette and tiled roofs suggest the south of France.

It comes in a simple carved wooden frame, which suits its relaxed, sun-drenched mood.