Technical information
- Title : Untitled
- Date : c. 1940
- Technique : Oil on canvas
- Dimensions : 27 × 35 cm
- Location : Private collection
Biographical / historical context
This view of a farmhouse at the foot of a rise belongs to Breuillaud’s southern vein, in which he seeks to translate Mediterranean clarity through crisp colour relationships.
At the beginning of the 1940s, landscape remains for him a field of experimentation: the observed scene serves as a starting point for a construction aimed at legible masses and stable chromatic accords.
The olive tree—an emblematic motif of Provençal landscapes—acts here as an immediate cultural marker even when the precise location is unknown, and it allows the painting to set the suppleness of vegetation against the geometry of built forms.
Formal / stylistic description
The composition is organised by a gently sloping foreground occupied by a large olive tree whose dark trunk and reddish branches stand out against pale ground.
At centre, a cluster of buildings with pinkish‑ochre façades forms a stable mass, while at right very dark cypresses rise as verticals that deepen the space.
In the distance, a mountain with simplified ridges unfolds beneath an intensely blue sky.
The palette combines deep blues, blue‑greens, ochres and pinks with clear transitions; relatively thick paint emphasises materiality and heightens the sensation of light through contrast.
Comparative analysis / related works
The work relates to Breuillaud’s southern landscapes, where he often combines a foreground tree, a farmhouse or village at centre, and a line of hills or mountains in the distance.
This constructed scheme, close to a classical tradition of composed landscape, is energised here by a nervy touch and audacious colour accords.
Compared with more atmospheric views, the present painting privileges clarity of planes and the force of oppositions—black cypresses against blue sky, warm façades against cool shadows—while the synthetic handling of the relief makes the mountain read as an almost architectural form.
Justification of dating and attribution
The dating to c. 1940 is consistent with the facture: visible impasto, drawing absorbed into the brushwork, and a landscape built from broad coloured planes.
The simplification of the farmhouse and relief, together with a saturated yet controlled palette, corresponds to a phase in which Breuillaud seeks a synthesis between spontaneity and compositional architecture.
The attribution is confirmed by the visible signature at lower right and by recurring stylistic constants: a foreground tree treated as a structuring mass, warm/cool contrasts, and spatial organisation through successive planes rather than pronounced linear perspective.
Provenance / exhibitions / publications
Private collection