Caulking In Open Water

Oil on panel (3 panels, oak?) 19th century by Tony-François de Bergue. This seascape depicts a caulking scene. Two rafts frame a sailboat in open water. The one on the left is equipped with ropes and pulleys attached to the mast, allowing the ship to heel and reveal the part of the hull to be repaired. The raft on the right has a hearth for heating the tar that will be applied by the caulkers to the hull. This painting has been cleaned, varnished and the left panel reinforced with canvas on the upper part (at an angle, see photo). Good general condition. Nice frame. Tony-François de Bergue: born June 20, 1820 in Paris, died in 1893. 19th century French. Genre painter, landscapes and still lifes. Pupil of Cogniet and Gosse. He exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1847. After a long absence, he reappeared at the Salon of 1861 with a Rembrandt painting the Anatomy Lesson. From his trip to Portugal and Sicily in 1874, he brought back many studies. While his genre scenes and still lifes are painted in a traditional style, not free from that of the School, his landscapes painted after his trip of 1874, flourish in a light palette. Museum: Reims. Reference: Bénézit page 161 T 2.