My new favorite antique watercolor. I do seem to be having a bit of a horse moment, with several drawings and paintings of horses currently in the shop, but here it is the whole scene (set at the Saint-Cloud race track just outside of Paris), and especially the faces of the riders, that put it over the top. The manner of the painting is also reminding me of Henry Darger, so I am projecting vivid interior lives onto these equestrians, and their horses too!
The painting dates to the early 1900s and was done by French artist Pierre Albert Leroux (1890-1959), best known as a military painter--lots of soldiers in uniform and battle scenes, often including horses (there a couple of examples of his drawings of soldiers also listed in the shop.) I must say though, to my eye, this one, which I imagine him doing on a leisurely afternoon at the track, tops them all!
7 7/8" l x 4" tall. Cut out of a sketchbook I'd guess, a bit unevenly which I think makes it all the better. Very good condition.
