By Bernard Labbe
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title:
French Pyrenees Mountain Village Garden House Ink Watercolour Landscape
Artist:
Bernard Labbe, French mid 20th century
Medium:
Watercolour and ink on paper, laid to mount card, unframed
Size:
15.75 x 11.75 inches
Signature:
Signed and dated lower left
Stamped verso:
Stamped verso with the artist’s atelier stamp
Provenance:
The artist’s atelier studio, France, stamped verso
Condition:
Good vintage condition overall. The work is presented on mount card, with light foxing, age toning and handling marks visible to the outer mount. There is brown tape verso from previous mounting, visible in the photographs. The image itself remains bright, detailed and well presented.
Description:
A charming original French watercolour and ink landscape by Bernard Labbe, depicting a quiet village garden scene in the Pyrenees Orientales. The verso inscription appears to locate the scene near Mollo in the Pyrenees Orientales, although the exact wording is slightly indistinct. The composition shows a stone terrace, steps, garden wall, gate and small house set among bare winter branches, evergreen trees and mountain village architecture. The subject has strong appeal for collectors of French Pyrenees landscapes, village views, garden paintings, architectural watercolours and original mid century works on paper.
The painting is full of lively detail and atmosphere. Labbe combines delicate ink drawing with fresh watercolour washes, using warm ochres, soft blues, greens and browns to describe the textures of stone, foliage and architecture. The foreground path and angular shadows draw the eye into the composition, while the steps, gate and upper garden create a pleasing sense of depth. The balance between precise draughtsmanship and loose painterly colour is particularly attractive, giving the work both structure and spontaneity.
Bernard Labbe was based around the Laval and L’Huisserie areas of Mayenne in the Pays de Loire. Many works from this collection bear his atelier stamp and were originally kept within the artist’s studio archive. Labbe exhibited with the Société des Artistes Indépendants from 1951 and was associated with the Centre de Liaison des Artistes Paris from 1982. He also appeared in L’Annuaire National des Beaux Arts from 1970, including French, German and American editions. His exhibitions included Paris, Barcelona, Brussels, New York, Deauville, Aix en Provence, Arles, Avignon and Marseille.
This original work reflects Labbe’s interest in regional French architecture, village streets and intimate landscape views. The Pyrenees Orientales connection gives the piece added geographical interest, while the garden wall, house, gate and trees make it especially appealing as a decorative French village scene.
Unframed and ready for sympathetic presentation, this is a lovely original French Pyrenees watercolour and ink landscape by Bernard Labbe, ideal for collectors of French village paintings...
Category
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Bernard Labbe Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsWatercolor, Pen, Ink