Paul Ternat (1897-1951) (the Seine Near Rouen) Oil Canvas Circle Of Albert Marquet

Identification of the Work

• Artist: Paul TERNAT (1897–1951)
• Title: "La Seine aux environs de Rouen" (The Seine near Rouen) — title inscribed on an old label on the back of the canvas
• Medium: Oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 50 × 61 cm (canvas — standard French format "12 Figure")
• Signature: "P. TERNAT", signed lower right
• Support: Commercial stock canvas; chalk mark "12" on the reverse, consistent with the measured dimensions
• Frame: Unframed (photographed on bare stretcher) — to be confirmed against current condition

Description
The composition adopts an elevated, panoramic viewpoint over the Seine valley near Rouen. In the foreground, a metal suspension bridge with blue-grey pylons crosses the river diagonally, linking a town with ochre rooftops to an industrial area marked by two tall twin factory chimneys, warehouses and rail installations. The wide, calm river occupies the entire central and lower portion of the painting, animated by two moored barges and their reflections. In the background, a low range of hills is outlined beneath a hazy sky, rendered in broad bands of blue-grey and pinkish ochre.

Stylistic Analysis
The handling places the work within the tradition of French colourist landscape painters working in the circle of Albert Marquet during the interwar period:

• An elevated, panoramic viewpoint over a river site — a favourite motif of Marquet's (Le Havre, Rouen, Algiers).
• A composition built in broad horizontal bands (sky / hills / industrial zone / river / bank), without emphatic linear perspective.
• A muted, near-monochrome palette (olive greens, ochres, blue-greys) — a tempered rather than an exuberant Fauvism.
• A broad, simplified touch — buildings reduced to coloured blocks, foliage treated as compact masses.

Biographical Notes on the Artist
Paul Ternat (1897–1951) is documented as a designer of perfume bottles for the house of Caron, working alongside Félicie Bergaud (née Wanpouille, 1874–1967), the house's artistic director:

• 1924 — the "La Nuit de Noël" flacon, in opaque black Baccarat crystal, created with Félicie Wanpouille.
• 1949 — the "La Fête des Roses" flacon, a modernist quadripod model in Choisy-le-Roi crystal, designed with Félicie Bergaud (sale by L'Huillier & Associés, Hôtel Drouot, Paris).
• A work by Paul Ternat is also listed in the collections of the Centre national des arts plastiques (CNAP / Fonds national d'art contemporain) — institutional confirmation of his standing as a recognised artist.

This profile of a Parisian decorative-arts designer, active from at least 1924 to 1951, is consistent with a parallel practice of landscape painting, common among artists of his generation.

Condition

• A small area of paint loss visible on the upper right edge of the canvas (sky area).
• Superficial craquelure consistent with age and varnish.
• Canvas on a keyed stretcher, apparently original.
• No visible restoration noted at this stage — to be confirmed by direct examination.

Provenance
An old handwritten label on the reverse bears the title of the work. No further indication of provenance (gallery, collection, exhibition) has been identified to date.

Recommendations Prior to Sale

• Have the painting authenticated and appraised by an expert affiliated with a national chamber of auctioneers or an auction house specialising in 20th-century paintings.
• Provide the expert with high-resolution photographs of both front and back, including close-ups of the signature and the label on the reverse.
• Consult the Bénézit dictionary and the archives of the Caron house / CNAP to expand the artist's biographical record.
• Consider contacting a local historical society in Rouen to help pinpoint the exact site depicted and refine the dating.