Antique French Oil Painting, Attributed to Henri Rolland, in the Manner of Monticelli

Antique French Oil Painting, Attributed to Henri Rolland, in the Manner of Monticelli

A wonderfully atmospheric antique French oil painting on board depicting an intimate gathering of elegantly dressed women, rendered with exceptionally rich, expressive brushwork. Deep jewel tones, flashes of rose, cream and gold, and areas of heavily worked impasto emerge dramatically from the dark background.

The painting is attributed to Henri Paul Rolland, a French painter whose story is particularly fascinating. Rolland became closely associated with the work of Marseille painter Adolphe Monticelli (1824–1886), whose distinctive paintings were celebrated for their rich color, romantic subjects and unusually thick, expressive application of paint. Rolland is documented as having produced paintings in Monticelli’s manner, and works attributed to him are known bearing a “Monticelli” signature rather than his own. One documented example attributed to Rolland and signed Monticelli was even illustrated in Les faux Monticelli by Sauveur Stammégna. 

This painting bears what appears to be a “Monticelli” signature at lower right, adding another layer to its intriguing history. 

The panel is signed Monticelli along the lower edge. It is not by Monticelli. Henri Paul Rolland (1891–1923) spent his brief career painting garden scenes in Monticelli’s manner and signing them with Monticelli’s name, and French salerooms have catalogued his panels on exactly that basis for decades — the signature is a fact of the object’s history, not a claim about its authorship. What remains is a painting of real quality by a painter whose work has outlived the deception it was built on: the impasto is genuinely extraordinary, the composition assured. 

The surface is particularly beautiful in person, with substantial impasto and visible, energetic brushwork throughout. An evocative little piece of French art history as well as a striking decorative painting. 18.25 x 12.25 inches. The painting is on board. 

Condition: Antique condition with age-related wear. Please refer to photographs for details.
Artist: Attributed to Henri Paul Rolland
Signature: Bears a “Monticelli” signature, lower right
Medium: Oil
Origin: France