Edouard Bernaut (1890-1981) Village In Summer. Creuse, Dordogne. Crozant Montézin School, Romania

A lovely oil on canvas by Edouard Bernaut depicting a village in summer, signed lower left and titled on an old label on the back, with the painter's address in Paris on rue de Charonne, located in a village of [location unknown], and an old stamp from the 1948 Winter Salon in Paris. The canvas measures 46 x 38 cm (excluding the frame) and 66 x 57 cm (including the frame). This is a very beautiful post-impressionist composition by Edouard Bernaut, who here paints a scene of a village in summer, the location of which I have been unable to decipher. He employs his characteristic brushstrokes and palette, in very warm tones dominated by greens, yellows, pinks, and sky blues. Naturally, as always, one immediately thinks of a work by Montézin, from whom the artist was greatly influenced, which is logical since he was one of his masters. Bernaut is first referenced among the painters of the Crozant school; indeed, he made frequent stays in the Creuse valley, see page 171 in the book "L'Ecole de Crozant" by Christophe Rameix. Otherwise, born in Crayova, Romania, to French parents, he took lessons in Paris with Cormon, Adler, and therefore Montézin. He was a member of the Salon des Artistes Français, as well as other Parisian salons, as evidenced by this work exhibited at the 1948 Winter Salon. He received an honorable mention in 1924 and a bronze medal in 1927, as well as the Ralli Prize in 1921 and the Zuber Prize in 1923. Interestingly, his works are frequently mistaken for those of Émile Bernard, whether intentionally or not, due to their similar signatures, which is rather flattering and demonstrates the undeniable quality of Bernaut's work. This canvas is entirely original, in good condition, and in its period frame. The work is guaranteed authentic.