Cargo Ship On The Seine River By Albert Malet

Oil on canvas painting of a Cargo Ship on the Seine River by French painter Albert Malet.

This painting shows a highly original composition, with the foreground reduced to the lower third of the canvas and the sky occupying the entire upper section.
In the foreground, a diagonal representing the riverbank and the path is meant to guide our gaze towards the vanishing point, but it’s the positioning of the cargo ship in the center that catches our attention.
The atmosphere of the scene is masterfully rendered by the artist. The humidity is palpable, the road is still strewn with puddles from a recent storm, the sky is alive with shifting clouds and the hills are shrouded in mist.

In pure impressionist style, with the small brushstrokes perfectly visible, laying the different shades side by side to create a relief effect, Malet plays with his palette to bring his painting to life.

Born in Bosc le Hard, north of Rouen in 1912, Malet began painting at the age of 19, benefiting from the advice of his illustrious teacher, Robert Antoine Pinchon, himself a pupil of Albert Lebourg (two masters of the Rouen school).
A talented colorist and luminist, Malet captures on canvas the fleeting atmosphere and fluctuating colors of his subjects.
Planting his easel in the Normandy countryside, he knew how to allow himself to be immersed in places, the better to transcribe them.
His motto was “See all, feel all”.
From 1942 onwards, he exhibited at the Salon de l’Ecole Française in Paris, then at the Galerie Legrip in Rouen, and abroad in Algeria, Germany, Japan…
He died in Rouen in 1986.
He is considered the last of the French Impressionists.

A moving work, perfectly reflecting the style of the Rouen School.
Oil on canvas in perfect condition, signed lower right, in a gilded wooden frame.

Unframed 13 inches X 18 inches
Framed 20 inches X 25 inches

France 20th century c.Reference number: R-421