Jules Nicolas Schitz - Large Mountain Landscape oil on canvas 147x113cm

19th century French school, large oil on canvas depicting a mountain landscape. Circa 1850-60 Napoleon III period. Signed Schitz lower left. Jules Nicolas Schitz (1817-1871), French landscape painter.

This large, beautiful painting shows a wide glacier valley, with hamlets and inhabited dwellings on the left and right. In the center foreground, the scene is animated by shepherds fording a river with an oxcart. In the background, in the center of the valley, we can make out the halo of a glacier lake. In the background, a chain of snow-capped mountains stands out against a beautiful blue sky.
We have to admit that the existence of this lake is more suggested than clearly visible, but as luck would have it, a few months ago we sold another large mountain painting by another painter, showing the same valley but taken further forward. The characteristic profile of the mountain massifs in the background can be recognized, which are therefore a real landscape and not an invention born of the artist's mind. In van der Burch's painting, the lake is clearly visible in the background, and we can assume that it was taken from the hamlet on the left, as seen in our present picture. https://www.gslr-antiques.com/fr/boutique/tableaux/grand-tableau-montagne-vander-bruk.php

JN Schitz's painting is more beautiful and finely executed than the other painting we sold and referenced. There are numerous details of small figures, cattle heads barely sketched but very scrupulous in their realistic representation. The painting is presented in a fine gold-leaf frame. Schitz's signature in the lower left corner. In addition to its fresh, cheerful colors, our painting is characterized by its large format and strong decorative effect. It is in excellent condition: we have had the painting and the gold-leaf frame cleaned. No damage.

Frame: 147cm x 113cm
Canvas: 128cm x 98cm

Ref: YZ4DIXJ5TK