CAMILLE BOMBOIS French, 1883-1970 On the Marne Oil on canvas. Signed lower right.Set beneath a canopy of overhanging trees, this tranquil river scene depicts two anglers seated in a flat-bottomed punt, their long bamboo poles angled out over the still water as they wait patiently for a bite. Bombois renders the scene with the meticulous characteristic of his mature style, carefully articulating each leaf and reflection while populating the middle distance with rowboats, strolling figures, and a promenade lined with pavilions and striped gateposts. The composition's rich palette of greens is punctuated by the ochre of the boat's planking and the dark silhouettes of the fishermen's attire.Framed. 14.5 x 17.5 inches; frame: 24.5 x 27.5 inches $7,000-10,000
PROVENANCE: Stephen Silagy Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA
ARTIST PROFILE:CAMILLE BOMBOIS (French, 1883-1970).Born in Vernarey-les-Laumes, Cote d'Or, in 1883, Camille Bombois received a formal education at Laroche until 1899, after which he taught himself to paint. His early adult years were marked by physical and itinerant labor while serving with distinction in the French Army during the First World War, where he saw action at Chemin des Dames and was decorated for bravery three times. Bombois did not commit himself to painting full-time until 1925, a vocation he pursued until his death in Paris in June 1970. Celebrated as one of the foremost French Naïve painters, or "primitifs," Bombois brought to his canvases a robustness and vitality that reflected his own physical character, blending an instinctive folk-art sensibility with the candid charm of popular illustration. He drew his favorite subjects from the world of the circus and the fairground, rendering them with a decorative warmth that remains the hallmark of his celebrated body of work.
