Oil on panel bu the Belgium artist Alfred Bastien (1873 - 1955). The panel is in excellent condition and shows a tree lined road with a farm in the distance. It is signed by the artist.
Alfred Bastien was a Belgian artist, born in Ixelles in 1873 and died in Uccle in 1955. He was a painter and draftsman. He was educated at the Academy in Ghent, under the direction of J. Delvin, and at the Academy in Brussels, under the direction of J. Portaels.
Bastien was co-founder of the Circle Le Sillon in 1893. In 1897 he won the Godecharle Prize. He stayed in Paris with his friends M. Wagemans, F. Smeers and M. Blieck. There he became fascinated by Delacroix and Courbet. He was a realistic painter of landscapes, forest scenes, figures, nudes, portraits, marines, genre scenes, battle scenes, still lifes, flowers and monumental decorative canvases. His realistic style gradually freed itself from the sharp contours and his color palette gradually became brighter.
He traveled to Egypt, England, Algeria, Congo and crossed the Sahara. Together with Ch. Leonard and Ph. Swyncop, he painted the monumental Yser Panorama for King Albert I (1919-1920). He was related to the painters of the Rood Klooster and often painted in the Sonian Forest. From 1927 to 1947 he was a teacher and for several years director at the Academy in Brussels. Work by Alfred Bastien can be found in the Museums in Brussels, Ixelles and Antwerp, among others. He is also mentioned in BAS I, II and Two centuries of signatures of Belgian painters. (piron)