Limousin Countryside (1940)

Technical information

• Title : Limousin Countryside
• Date : 1940
• Technique : Oil on canvas
• Dimensions : 38 × 55 cm
• Location : Private collection

Biographical / historical context

This rural landscape dated 1940 testifies to Breuillaud’s constant interest in countryside motifs: low horizons, village silhouettes and discreet everyday animation. In these years, the artist develops an en plein air practice that combines direct observation with synthetic shaping.

The designation “Limousin” refers to a region of bocage and gentle undulations. Breuillaud retains its essentials here: the human scale of the landscape, the presence of built forms and the vegetal density that envelops the constructions.

Formal / stylistic description

The scene is constructed from a slightly elevated viewpoint. In the foreground, a band of ground and a slight break (embankment or ditch) introduces space. The middle zone contains sketched elements of rural life: a path, forms suggesting tools or a cart, and, to the right, a few barely indicated animals that animate the meadow.

The village stands out at centre, dominated by the dark church tower, a vertical point that structures the composition. Houses and roofs are treated as light masses, partially absorbed by foliage. The cloudy yet luminous sky is rendered with broad touches and cool modulations, creating a contrast with the saturated greens of the landscape.

The brushwork is lively and apparent: Breuillaud juxtaposes tones of green, violet and bluish grey, sometimes allowing the weave or ground to show through. This handling conveys a sense of movement and atmospheric freshness.

Comparative analysis / related works

This painting belongs to a group of landscapes in which Breuillaud combines a central architectural motif (church tower, farm, hamlet) with a highly worked vegetal envelope. The contrast between the light volumes of the built forms and the dark masses of trees is a recurring device that hierarchises space without resorting to detailed drawing.

The palette, based on nuanced greens and muted violets, points to a search for cooler harmonies than in his contemporary Mediterranean views. One may see here the adaptation of his pictorial language to a different climate and light, with a marked interest in values and the thickness of the air.

Justification of dating and attribution

The dating to 1940 is consistent with the synthetic treatment of forms and the economy of description: figurative elements (animals, tools, path) remain allusive, while the overall structure of the landscape is fixed by broad value relationships.

The pictorial matter, the predominance of cool tones and the way the village is built from pale blocks relate this work to other landscapes attributed to the same period.

The attribution to André Breuillaud is based on the coherence of touch and construction: vegetation masses rendered with circular gestures, simplified architectures, and a keen sense of breathing between planes. The hierarchy of values, notably around the church tower, is typical of his approach to landscape.

The signature appears at lower left (to be confirmed on the original). The ensemble of plastic characteristics corresponds to an autograph work by the artist.