Gustave Madelain " 0n The Quays" - Post-impressionism

An expressive and vivid depiction of a dock in a port at the end of the 19th century by the painter from Northern France, Gustave Madelain.
This small, attractive painting captures our attention with figures walking, probably to embark, towards the dark and dominating prow of a four-masted ship.
The composition is also teeming with lovely details in the background, kiosks, a Morris column, street lamps, and boat masts, until the shadow of a city on the horizon.

Gustave Madelain was born in 1867 and died in 1944 in Charly-sur-Marne in the Aisne.
He had been exhibiting in Paris at the Salon des Indépendants since 1907 and had acquired a reputation as a painter of river quays.
He is responsible for numerous views of Le Havre, Rouen and of course Paris.
A retrospective of his work took place in Paris in 1926 and was a great success with six architectural works purchased by the French state.

Oil on canvas signed "G Madelain" lower right, in good condition. Note, some small cracks in the sky, visible on photo.
Size: 10,8 x 8,9 Inches without frame and 18,7 x 16,7 Inches with its original wooden frame and its gilded carved stucco border.