Henri Verbrugghe (1877–1974), Snowy Landscape, Oil On Panel, Belgian School, Bruges

Charles Henri Verbrugghe (1877–1974) – Snow-Covered Village, Signed Oil on Panel
Belgian School, Impressionism, Bruges

Snow-covered village by Charles Henri Verbrugghe (Bruges, 1877 – Paris, 1974), a Bruges-born Impressionist who settled in Paris in 1905. A friend of Van Dongen and Utrillo, he remained faithful to Impressionism until his death in 1974, at nearly one hundred years of age.

Oil on hardboard panel, signed lower right “H. Verbrugghe”, painted in rich impasto with palette knife and short brushstrokes. The painting is presented in its original-style period wood and composition “Montparnasse” frame, most likely contemporary with the work. A small-format painting with considerable presence: 60 × 51 cm overall. Signed lower right “H. Verbrugghe”.

A village edge beneath the snow. A dark stream winds its way from the foreground into the distance, its green and Prussian blue waters contrasting sharply with the snow-covered banks. In the middle ground stands a cluster of bare trees, their branches scratched into the thick paint, with vertical strokes of green and orange embedded in the surface, approaching the freedom of abstraction. Beyond them stretches a row of low houses with snow-laden roofs and red-brick gables; a few tiny figures animate the scene, each suggested with just two or three touches of paint. Above, a lead-grey winter sky streaked with ochre pink and mauve fills almost half of the composition.

The painting is all about texture: thick impasto applied with palette knife and short brushwork, heightened with touches of pure white, yellow, emerald green and vermilion laid down in quick, comma-like strokes. Here, the snow is never simply white, but blue, green, pink and lilac.

The carved wood and composition frame, known as a “Montparnasse” frame, is Louis XV in style, with shaped contours and decoration of scrolling foliage, small flowers and shells. It retains an olive grey-green patina picked out with gold and is an old frame, most likely contemporary with the painting. The original natural linen liner is still present, bordered with a fine gilt fillet. The painting is unglazed, with no glass. Hanging fitting in place on the reverse.

The paint surface is intact and the signature is clear and fully legible. The frame shows age-related wear that complements the character of the painting; the construction remains firm and secure, with no looseness. No restoration or intervention required.

Ready to hang, it would work equally well in a picture cabinet or study, above a console table, or as part of a grouped display alongside other small-format paintings.

Provenance: French private collection.

Measurements:
• Frame: 60 × 51 cm
• Sight size: 39 × 31.5 cm

Biography:
Charles Henri Verbrugghe (1877–1974). Largely self-taught, Verbrugghe left Bruges for Paris in 1905, settling on rue Philippe-de-Girard in the 18th arrondissement. He associated in particular with Kees Van Dongen and Utrillo. Nicknamed “the Parisian from Bruges”, he divided his artistic activity between Bruges, where he spent his summers, Paris, Italy and the French Riviera. A well-documented artist whose works appear regularly at public auction, his snow scenes are among the most sought-after subjects within his late Impressionist production.

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