{"product_id":"small-french-still-life-with-fish-and-lemon-emile-lecomte","title":"Small Still Life with Fish, Shrimp \u0026 Lemon by Émile Lecomte, 1935","description":"\u003ch3\u003eFish. Shrimp. One outrageously yellow lemon.\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat's the entire cast of a \u003cstrong\u003eproper market still life\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong\u003eÉmile Lecomte\u003c\/strong\u003e painted them in 1935 with the loose, unhurried confidence of someone who'd clearly done this a hundred times before lunch. Nothing fussy. Nothing precious. Just the day's catch tumbled across a crumpled white cloth — silvery herring, a heap of rosy North Sea shrimp, and that lemon doing the absolute most, \u003cem\u003eas lemons in still lifes always do!\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe love this one for exactly what it \u003cem\u003eisn't\u003c\/em\u003e. It isn't grand. It isn't showing off. It's the kind of painting that looks like it was dashed off in an afternoon and has been \u003cem\u003equietly charming\u003c\/em\u003e rooms ever since.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd \u003cstrong\u003ethe scale is the secret\u003c\/strong\u003e. Small enough to rescue the awkward corner that never quite works, to lean on a kitchen shelf between the cookbooks, or to layer into a gallery wall among mirrors and bigger paintings, where it will absolutely hold its own. \u003cem\u003e(Small paintings are the unsung heroes of a well-dressed wall — they do the flirting while the big ones do the shouting.)\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eÉmile Lecomte \u003c\/strong\u003e(1866–1938) was a Belgian, Brussels-trained painter, better known for his impressionist landscapes but plainly at home with \u003cem\u003ea fish and a fruit\u003c\/em\u003e. Those pink shrimp are a wink to his North Sea world — still beloved on the Belgian and Dutch coasts today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSigned and dated upper right: \u003cem\u003eÉmile Lecomte, 1935.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIts condition?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe painting is in a lovely, clean, colourful condition. There's \u003cstrong\u003efine craquelure\u003c\/strong\u003e across the surface, entirely in keeping with a near-90-year-old oil — and honestly, it adds to the charm rather than distracting from it. No noticeable overpaint; the colours \u003cem\u003e(that lemon especially)\u003c\/em\u003e stay \u003cstrong\u003efresh and vivid\u003c\/strong\u003e. There's also a handwritten pencil inscription on the reverse, now too faint to read with any certainty — a quiet little mystery left by its past. The gilded frame is a good, well-matched \u003cem\u003elater\u003c\/em\u003e addition — its Schleiper label dates it to around the 1960s-1970s rather than the 1930s — and it too is in good condition, with only light, honest scratches and age-wear. Nothing serious anywhere.\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFresh catch, bright citrus, and that \u003cem\u003eunmistakable painterly nonchalance\u003c\/em\u003e. Not just a nice painting. Atmosphere, \u003cem\u003eready for your wall!\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wildschut Antiques","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57560232395125,"sku":"Paint-Still-Life-Fish-Lemon-Lecomte","price":1280.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0843\/7930\/4236\/files\/Wildschut_Antiques_Fish-Lemon-Still-Life-Lecomte-Web-Def.jpg?v=1788946553","url":"https:\/\/wildschut-antiques.com\/products\/small-french-still-life-with-fish-and-lemon-emile-lecomte","provider":"Wildschut Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}