This mid-19th-century oil painting by French artist Henri-Jean Chasselat (1813-1880) depicts a continental town scene.

Four white horses, hitched to a covered wagon, wait patiently at a crossroads for their driver to return. Around them, an assortment of ramshackle buildings, each unique from the next. Several are probably centuries old given their unusual architecture and timber-framed facades. On the left, a particularly interesting building features a ‘jetty’ projecting above the lower floor - it’s covered in climbing flora. While on the right, there’s a prominent turret with a tiled conical roof.

Chasselat was a classically-minded Parisian who often looked back to the old masters for inspiration. With this in mind, could this be an untouched historic suburb of the French capital? During the 1860s, Paris underwent a sizable transformation - did he capture it for posterity? The overcast, brooding, low-lying clouds bring an ominous sense of foreboding.

A fine work by an accomplished hand.

Signed/dated lower left and held within a gilt frame.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 29½” x 23½” / 75cm x 58cm
Year of creation: c. 1860
Provenance: Private collection, Germany.
Condition: Artwork presents well. Craquelure but the paint is stable. Canvas relined. Later stretcher. Frame with some light wear.
Artist’s auction maximum: £14,000
Our reference: BRV1465

Henri-Jean Chasselat

Henri-Jean Chasselat was an award-winning French painter of portraits, history and genre subjects. He was trained initially by his father before enrolling at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Harvard Art Museums holds an example of his work.

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