François Cachoud (1866-1943), Moonlit Night Effect, 1924, Charcoal And White Chalk, Savoy

François Cachoud (1866-1943), moonlit night effect, 1924, charcoal and white chalk, Savoy school

Night effect by moonlight by François Cachoud (1866-1943), charcoal heightened with white chalk on grey-green tinted grained paper, signed and dated 1924, Savoy school. A diagonal composition — a sunken lane rendered in broad blended strokes, a powerful mass of tall wind-tousled trees laid down in deep blacks, a sky swept with oblique white hatching — in which all the human light of the night is held in a tiny triangle of chalk outlined in black, the lit window of a low building.
A pupil of Gérôme and a member of the Salon des Artistes Français, Cachoud was known in his lifetime as the painter of moonlights. His oils are well identified on the market, his drawings far less so, and this mature sheet shows how a nocturne is built in values before colour. The tinted paper alone provides all the half-tones, the charcoal deepening the shadows and the matt chalk placing the lights.
An intimate small format, to hang on its own on a light wall, in a cabinet of drawings alongside other works on paper, or above a desk, a console or a sideboard.

François Cachoud (Saint-Alban-Leysse, 1866 – Chambéry, 1943). Night effect, or moonlight over a hamlet. Charcoal heightened with white chalk on grey-green tinted paper with a pronounced grain. Signed and dated lower right « F. Cachoud 1924 ». French private collection.

Trained in Gérôme's studio and admitted as a member of the Salon des Artistes Français, he made the Savoyard night his favourite subject. The relative rarity of his drawings, compared with a widely documented production in oil, gives this sheet particular interest, and the year 1924 places it at the height of his powers.

In the foreground, the sunken lane descends from the right in broad strokes of blended charcoal. Centre right, the mass of tall trees, laid down in deep blacks, fills almost the entire sky. Nestled beneath the trees, a low building whose light gable can just be made out; at the heart of the sheet, tiny, the lit opening is rendered by a simple triangle of white chalk outlined in black. On the left, the gentle line of a hillside and an open distance. The sky, swept with oblique white hatching, is punctuated by two or three denser dabs suggesting the moon and its halo. All the intermediate values are provided by the tone of the paper. Matt, chalky highlights. Charcoal well fixed, stable medium.

Period flat frame in pine veneered with burr wood, varnished in a red-brown mahogany tone, mitred corners, glazed rebate, original backboard held by pins and strips of kraft paper, hanging ring on the reverse. An old mount that has remained intact, probably the original.

Condition: the sheet is dense and well preserved, with no foxing or fading visible under the glass, and no folds or tears. On the frame, scratches to the lower fillet and losses of varnish in the upper part, the normal wear of a hundred-year-old frame, which adds to its character and calls for no intervention. Hanging fitting in place, ready to hang.

A collector's piece for lovers of Savoyard and Alpine painting and of nocturnes.

Dimensions:
• Frame, overall: 32.5 x 25 cm (12.8 x 9.8 in)
• Sight size: 29.5 x 22 cm (11.6 x 8.7 in)

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