A very atmospheric impressionistic painting of a horse and cart on a woodland track. The artist has very skillfully captured the dappled light of the forest as it picks out the movement of the figures and horse. Painted in the style of Adolphe Monticelli, perhaps by a pupil or close follower.

Circle of Adolphe Monticelli (1824-1886)

A horse and cart on a woodland track

Apparently unsigned

Oil on canvas

14¼ x 20 inches without the frame

19 x 25 inches with the frame

Adolphe Monticelli was a pupil of Paul Delaroche, but he learned more from his studies of Old Masters in the Louvre; he was also influenced by his friends Delacroix and Diaz de la Peña. His subjects included landscapes, portraits, still lifes, fêtes galantes in the spirit of Watteau, and scenes from the circus, painted in brilliant colours and thick impasto that influenced van Gogh. He enjoyed great success in Paris in the 1860s, but after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 he returned to Marseilles and led a retiring life. His work is represented in many French museums.

Text source: The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford University Press)