Marcel Belle (1871–1948), Snow On The Burgundy Canal. Albert Marquet, Crozant School, Bernheim.

A new work by Ma fprcel Belle (check out my other two paintings for sale)—this time an oil on cardboard depicting the Burgundy Canal under snow around 1920, signed in the lower right corner with additional notes on the back. 
Dimensions of the painting alone (unframed): 38x46 cm; 47x55 cm including the frame.
The painting is in excellent original condition and comes in a modern frame.
Authenticity guaranteed.

This is another beautiful post-Impressionist composition with Fauvist tendencies by Marcel Belle; this time, it depicts neither the Creuse nor the Basque Country—his two favorite regions—but apparently Burgundy, with its famous canal on a snowy winter day. Of course, as is the case nine times out of ten with Belle, one immediately recognizes his highly stylized brushwork and his palette outlined in black, which is strongly reminiscent of one of his major influences, Albert Marquet. Marcel Belle is surely the painter closest to the great Fauvist master—so much so that sometimes confusion is possible!!! 

Marcel Belle is a magnificent artist; honestly, he has little to envy his friend Albert Marquet in certain works— personally, he’s one of my favorite painters from the Crozant School!!
Marcel Belle is a member, among others, of two famous French schools: the Crozant School and the Basque School. In fact, he was one of the finest Basque representatives alongside Floutier, Colin, Labrouche, Masson, and Elizaga—who, incidentally, painted in a somewhat similar style; however, Belle’s Basque works are quite rare on the market, which explains their very high value—as evidenced by this work sold at auction in December 2013 in Paris, *Tugboats at Socoa* (60x73 cm) , which went under the hammer for €2,600—nearly €3,300. He was also a member of the Crozant school.
Marcel Gaston Belle (1871–1948) is a descendant of a line of French artists that includes, notably, Alexis-Simon Belle (1674–1734). In Paris, he began studying painting at the Grande Chaumière, where he befriended Henri Martin, whose student he also became. It was therefore only natural that his early paintings were executed in the Pointillist style—a very beautiful, sometimes lively form of Pointillism. These paintings are extremely rare on the market, but some have sold at the sale of his studio at Drouot, and the artist’s record is in fact a Divisionist painting measuring 160x190 cm that sold for over €166,000 in 2000 at Sotheby’s in New York. He later moved to the Creuse Valley, which explains his association with the Crozant School; he continued to paint with his signature pointillist style, but gradually abandoned it under the influence of Albert Marquet in favor of his definitive style—that is, broad areas of flat color in the manner of the Fauvists. He continued to to paint in the Creuse Valley, but he also traveled very often to paint in the Basque Country, as well as in Provence, Brittany, the South of France, Paris, Alsace, the Alps, etc...
He submitted works to the Salon d’Automne in 1920, then to the Nationale des Beaux-Arts between 1921 and 1945, and to the Salon des Indépendants between 1926 and 1939; he also held a solo exhibition at Bernheim Jeune in 1937.
His works are now very rare and highly prized by art lovers, especially those depicting the Creuse Valley and the Basque Country, though there are very few of them—as evidenced by this painting recently sold in Melun in 2022 for €5,600 at auction, which depicted a riverside scene, likely the Seine.