Victor Le Gentile (1815-1889) Shepherd In Creuse. Schools Of Crozant And Fay, Donzel, Dupré, 19th

Rare oil on canvas by Louis Victor Le Gentile depicting a shepherd and his flock in Creuse, signed lower right. Size of the painting alone 30x46cm and 51x66cm including frame. This is therefore a rare and superb painting by Le Gentile depicting a shepherd and his flock in Creuse. Magnificent 19th century composition typical of the artist, with great finesse of execution as is most often the case with this painter. Le Gentile is a very well-known painter in Creuse and Berry, as he is one of the precursors of the Crozant school with Donzel, Desjardins..., but above all he is one of the founders with Théodore Rousseau, Dupré, Cabat and Veillat of the Fay school. Victor Le Gentile is less well-known (and less highly regarded) than his friends Jules Dupré, Camille Corot, and Théodore Rousseau, but as early as the 1830s, he set up his easel with them between Berry and Limousin. The village of Le Fay, in the commune of Parnac, in Indre, was the first point of attachment for painters who set off across picturesque France, often after having learned their trade in Barbizon. Their bucolic landscapes and other scenes of peasant life foreshadow the liberating impulse, carried by the Impressionist movement, which would be expressed a few years later around Crozant. Le Gentile stayed regularly in Guéret for a good part of his career. But it is perhaps in the museum of Limoges, the city where Le Gentile had established strong friendships, that the silhouette of this mysterious painter is best sketched. Le Gentile is obviously listed in the Crozant school but I advise you to consult the biography of Robert Guinot dedicated to Le Gentile; I put a link to an article published in La Montagne: https://www.lamontagne.fr/gueret-23000/loisirs/a-la-recherche-de-victor-le-gentile-pionnier-du-pleinairisme_1604056/Today the works of Le Gentile are rather rare on the art market, however, amateurs are not mistaken because his paintings achieve very good sales results, including one work having exceeded 12,000€ in 1999 in Nantes. This canvas is in very good condition for its 150 years, some slight cracks but not detrimental in any way, quite the contrary....Delivered in a very pretty period gilt frame. Work guaranteed authentic.