A. Appian (lyon 1818- Id. 1898) "yzeron River Banks" Oil On Canvas 67x37 Cm Frame

Adolphe APPIAN (Lyon 1818 - Id.1898)
Oil on canvas
Handwritten signature lower left.
Original frame.
The frame has on a strip a barely visible handwritten inscription in graphite pencil "Ruisseau d'Yzseron / Bords." then on another "Appian"
On the back of the frame: a 4 x 7.5 cm stamp inscribed "47" in ink.

Dimensions without frame: H 37 x W 67cm
Dimensions of the frame: H 98 x W 67.5 cm. W: 10.5 cm

Conservation condition: Very good condition.
Note however that the frame being original the wood has shrunk. This is visible on two angles.

The calm emanating from this landscape is reinforced by an X-shaped composition, nevertheless the main subject of the stream supported by touches of light piercing through the foliage allows the viewer to move through the work by passing from one plane to another, and thus avoiding too much immobility.
Adolphe Appian was a student of Corot, a member of the Barbizon school and considered by many to be the master of Naturalism and one of the precursors of Impressionism.

In the foreground the stream is framed by a thick canopy of trees and rocky piles typical of the banks of the Yzeron flowing in the surroundings of Lyon. In the center of the second plane drowned in the landscape: a peasant is fishing. What attracts the eye is this man in a red waistcoat with his white shirt sleeve rolled up on his arm and his straw hat. We guess that he is casting his fishing rod.

Our gaze thanks to the reflections in the meanders of the water invariably returns to the foreground.

Bibliography : On March 12, 1869 in the Indépendant des Basses Pyrénées a painting by Adolphe Appian was described in these terms: “18.(…) Let us salute a charming painting by Appian Ruisseau: Under thick cover that the sun's rays barely penetrate, a small peasant fishes in a clear and limpid river. What a good and excellent painting! With almost nothing the artist has rendered nature with charming truth and grace. A few touches here and there, and immediately the dark foliage lights up with joyful tones, we smell the scents of spring and we envy the boy who has lifted his pants to wade more comfortably in the water this canvas was bought by the Infante Don Sébastien, whose choices, it must be said, denote a very enlightened amateur "

In the Journal des Artistes of December 2, 1888. During the Salon of Reims was acquired by an amateur: Appian: Banks of the Izeron stream.

Provenance: Property of the Lyon region.