French Coastal Sailboats, Oil On Board By Bernard Régis, C. 1950s–60s

This evocative maritime painting depicts a tranquil coastal scene animated by traditional sailing boats gently floating on calm waters. Executed in oil on board, the work is signed Bernard Régis in the lower left corner. The artist employs a confident, textured impasto technique, using a palette knife to build thick layers of paint that bring remarkable depth and movement to the sea and sails. The luminous sky, rendered in soft blues and whites, contrasts beautifully with the warm ochres, yellows, and greens of the boats, whose reflections shimmer across the water’s surface.

Bernard Régis appears to have worked in a figurative, post-Impressionist tradition, strongly influenced by mid-20th-century French marine painting. While biographical information on the artist remains limited, his style aligns closely with regional coastal painters active in France during the 1950s and 1960s, particularly those inspired by Mediterranean and Atlantic harbors. The subject matter—working sailboats, small dinghies, and open horizons—suggests a direct observation of everyday maritime life rather than an idealized or academic composition.

The painting is presented in its original carved and gilt wooden frame, which enhances its decorative presence and supports the proposed mid-20th-century dating. Overall, this work is a charming and expressive example of French marine art, combining strong painterly technique with a timeless nautical atmosphere, ideal for both classic and contemporary interiors.