Row Of Trees Along The River – Oil On Canvas, Signed “colli” – Mid-20th Century

Row of Trees Along the River
Signed "Colli," artist to be identified
Inscribed on the back with date: 1962
Oil on canvas
Signed lower left: Colli (reading uncertain)
Dimensions: 55 x 46 cm — 70.5 x 64.5 cm with frame
Condition: very good, fine, discreet cracks
Carved wooden frame with glazed patina, green inner molding, mid-20th century

A calm river, a row of tall trees still bare of leaves, a village, and a hill in the background. It is the transition between seasons: the ground is already covered with russet leaves, but the light is bright.

What strikes the viewer first is the color. The tree trunks are not brown: they are yellow, bronze-green, and purple. The background fades into shades of mauve and pink up to the hill, and the carpet of leaves shifts into oranges and reds. It’s a decidedly Fauvist approach, yet one that remains true to the scene: each color finds its place, and the composition holds together very well.

The technique is just as interesting. On the riverbank, the brushstrokes are broad and applied with a full brush, featuring beautiful impasto in the foliage and the carpet of leaves. On the water, the painter completely changes his approach: the paint becomes thin, spread out, almost smoothed, and the reflections of the tree trunks are rendered as broad, dark patches with blurred contours that fade into the bluish grays of the surface. Nothing is rendered in detail; everything is implied. It is this contrast between a three-dimensional riverbank and a water surface devoid of texture that gives the painting its depth, and it is the work of a sure hand.

On the back, a handwritten dedication on the stretcher: “In memory of Île-de-France and our friends in St. Paul de Vence and at the Salon des Collines in Mougins (A.M.)—For Raymonde, 1962,” signed in a hand that is difficult to read (M. Jaquemie or Jaquemin). The painting was thus given as a gift in 1962, as a memento of a landscape from Île-de-France, among friends connected to the artistic life of the Nice hinterland.

The canvas also bears the mark of its supplier, The Paris American Art, 2 rue Bonaparte in Paris, a well-known establishment in the Beaux-Arts district that has supplied canvases, stretchers, and frames to generations of painters. The stretcher bears a “10 F” size stamp.

The artist. The signature in the lower left reads “Colli.” Our research has not been able to link this name to any documented painter. The painting speaks for itself: the quality of the brushwork and the mastery of color are those of a trained and experienced artist.

Condition. Very good overall condition. Fine, discreet craquelure, normal for an oil painting of this period and does not interfere with viewing the painting. The paint layer is stable, and the colors are fresh.

Frame. A beautiful carved wooden frame featuring a frieze of small teeth, with a bleached patina that reveals the wood and coppery highlights. A green inner molding borders the canvas and echoes the greens of the undergrowth.

Work on view at the gallery (07240)
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