The Woman on the beach,1883: early Impressionist coastal landscape

A wonderful and evocative coastal landscape with a lone female figure on the beach. Depicted is undoubtably a Northern shore - the sea is a brownish green rather than azure blue - but the luminosity of the sky is marvellous, and one can almost smell the salty air. 

It is a work by French master Paul Robert (1857-1925) who had studied in the studios of Leon Bonnat and Henner, and later with Guillaumet and Stevens. 
He had hence received rigorous academic training, and exhibited at the Salon from 1874 onwards.

Here however is an an intimate, personal and early Impressionist work by Robert, who had become close to Edgar Degas. Dated août (August) 1883, it was certainly painted on the motif, in plein air. To give you a timeline, the first Impressionist exhibition had only been held nine years earlier!

Our painting measures 41 x 24 cm. It was conserved by Parisian master restore Renato Vassallo Paleologo in 1980, and is presented in a hand carved and gilded frame by RG  - quite possibly the best framers in the world. The business was started in the late 19th century by Emile Gault, and by the mid 1930s, Picasso, Dali and Chagall could regularly be seen on RG’s premises to have their paintings framed. The overall framed size is 59 x 42 cm.