Old landscape painting

Emile Charles Dameron (Paris 1848-1908) "Breton woman on the path, surroundings of Pont-Aven" Oil on canvas signed, stretched on a wooden frame with keys. Dimensions: 27 cm high and 40 cm wide. This small painting was certainly painted between 1877 and 1880. Indeed, it was during this period that the painter stayed in Pont-Aven and that he produced "Les Bords de l'Aven" (Musée des Beaux Arts de Quimper), thanks to which he won several prizes, including the Troyon prize and the 3rd medal at the 1878 Salon. Very close in both subject and treatment, this small-format version is a concentrate of the works initiated by the Barbizon landscapers: the countryside magnified by light, the philosophy of beauty given by nature, the modesty of landscapes and their users. It is also difficult not to see the relationship with the manner of a Corot in the suggestive treatment of branches and foliage... From the darkened sky above the sinkhole on the right to the undergrowth around the path on the left, the painter's work is meticulous and subtle. The touch is fine and delicate in the treatment of the vegetation and tree trunks in contrast with the flat tints that give the relief of the path. The colorist's work is remarkably illustrated in the center of the painting in the breakthroughs of the sky and the light at the bottom of the path. It gives all the vibration to this scene which communicates to our senses what Jean Bouret formulates in his work devoted to French landscapers of the 19th century: "this is the novelty in the landscape, it is this search both patient and passionate for a light which explains everything." The canvas is in good general condition, it has nevertheless suffered some damage certainly because of the frames on the right edge (see photos in detail).