Unloading Fish At Concarneau By Henri Barnoin - Brittany

Paper mounted on canvas. Mixed media: gouache and pastel, signed lower right and dated 1921. UV-resistant and anti-reflective protective glass. Dimensions without frame: 44 x 53 cm, with frame: 54 x 63 cm.

Henri Barnoin was a French painter renowned for his genre scenes, Breton landscapes and seascapes. Born in Paris, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts under Luc-Olivier Merson, but his taste for lively landscapes came mainly from Émile Dameron, his second teacher.

Fascinated by Brittany, he moved to Concarneau in 1919, where he opened a studio that became a meeting place for many artists. It was here that he drew his main inspiration, painting markets, busy ports, traditional festivals and scenes of everyday life with a luminous palette and a keen sense of composition.

Henri Barnoin is considered a major representative of the Concarneau school. He also excelled in pastel, a technique with which he rendered vibrant, nuanced atmospheres.

He exhibited regularly at the Salon des Artistes Français, of which he became a member, and received several awards, including a gold medal at the 1935 Salon.

Henri Barnoin died in Paris in 1940, leaving behind an abundant and highly prized body of work, particularly in the field of marine painting.