catalog text
EUGENE VERBOECKHOVEN (BELGIAN, 1798-1881) PAINTING OF SHEEP AT PASTURE
Signed lower left "Eugene Verboeckhoven", oil on panel
Item # 607IJB17A
A delightful scene of sheep at pasture with a few chickens resting amongst them in the shade of some small foliage. The bright scene is typical of Verboeckhoven, whose nostalgic works depicting the rural countryside were highly sought and remarkably successful. He was highly productive, focusing on farm and animal scenes and always painting with fine detail and a high-chroma warmth of colors. This cheery work shows a mastery of light and shadow that is most interesting. It is signed lower left and is housed in a rather early frame, the oxidization matching that of the panel and possibly original.
Literature:
- E. Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Vol. XIV, Gründ, 2006, p. 144-146 [extensive auction results and museum collection listing, biography and signature examples]
Measurements: [framed] 16 3/8” H x 18 3/8” W x 2 1/2” D [panel] 7 5/8” H x 9 3/4” W
Condition Report:
Surface could benefit from a cleaning. Name plate on frame removed at some point. Frame is of the period with age appropriate wear/cracking. Under UV showing a surface cleaning in the last twenty years, some UV flaring in left-side foliage, underside of one sheep, wings of chickens and right side foliage: these areas are shadowed and the flaring may simply be the darker pigment.