Hsc Painting By Henry Vollet: Breton Woman Knitting, Hydrangea Flowers, Brittany, 20th Century

Oil on cardboard signed by Henry Vollet* (1861–1945), depicting a woman knitting in a park or flower-filled garden. A Breton woman standing with her back to the viewer is knitting in front of a garden table. All around her is a beautiful flower-filled setting: colorful hydrangea bushes frame the background, while the foreground features a tree and a bed of geraniums.

The woman wears a traditional Breton costume, reminiscent of the clothing and headdresses of the Nevez region, where the artist spent his final years. The overall atmosphere of this painting is very sunny, and the rich, vibrant color palette reinforces the joyful and luminous quality of the scene.

This painting is in good overall condition. It is signed in the lower left corner. It is an oil on cardboard (plywood) that is slightly warped (see photos of the painting laid flat).

Please note: some areas where paint is missing (see red arrows, particularly in the upper left corner), as well as signs of age; see photos.

Henry Emile Vollet was a student of Fernand Cormon, a painter whose studio at the École des Beaux-Arts was attended by several renowned artists, including Vincent van Gogh, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Lin Fengmian. Henry Emile Vollet was widely recognized within the art world of his time.  A member of the Société des Artistes Français since 1889; he received an honorable mention in 1888, a third-class medal in 1894, a second-class medal in 1897, and a bronze medal in 1900 (World’s Fair); Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1904. The Laval Museum holds one of his painted sketches.  (Excerpt from Bénézit).

His style follows the Western tradition, while incorporating Eastern influences through his choice of subject matter. Thus, his figurative paintings depict Vietnamese people, their rituals, their architecture, and their landscapes. His landscapes exhibited at the Salon are well-composed and rich in contrast, without excessive picturesque sentimentality, notably his views of Corsica, Italy, Indochina (French School of Traveling Painters of Indochina), and finally Brittany, where he settled in the late 1920s. There he painted numerous seascapes, market scenes, portraits…

A highly rated artist on Artprice.

• Frame 71 cm x 62 cm
• Panel 55.2 cm x 45.5 cm
• All photos are available at:
  www.antiques-delaval.com