“British collier brig at sea” DURAND-BRAGER Jean-Baptiste (Dol-de-Bretagne 1818- Paris 1879)

Beautiful seascape of an English collier brig in an agitated North Sea. Beautiful colour palette with contrasting greys and greens, and expression of wildness of the waves. Remarkable Brushstroke technique typical for the artist. Oil on canvas signed and dated 1873 lower right. Professionally cleaned, the canvas has been relined. Modern frame.

Size: H 34cm x W 62 cm – H 58cm x W 86 cm

French school, dated 1873.

Lit: The red flag with the union Jack in the upper left corner is known as the merchant navy red flag. It was used from 1801 until 1864 by the Royal Navy and the British merchant marine since 1801.
A collier is a bulk cargo ship designed or used to carry coal. For many years, the Durham and Northumberland coalfields supplied a rapidly expanding London with vast tonnages of coal, and a large fleet of coastal colliers travelled up and down the east coast of England loaded with “black diamonds”. Coal was also exported to Europe.

Liter: Painter of seascapes and military subjects, he entered Eugene Isabel’s atelier, after several trips through Europe, the African coast, Senegal, and Asia. In 1840, he participated to the expedition to bring Napoleon’s ashes back to France. He published an in-folio with texts and official pieces regarding the trip. He came back in France in 1843 where he painted “The battle between the French and the British marine forces”. The year after, he was asked by the French government to execute two great paintings: ‘The bombing of Mogador’ and ‘The take-over of the island of Mogador’. After the war of Sebastopol, he was part of the expedition of Kluburn. In 1844, he was honored with the cross of the ‘Legion d’Honneur’ and became an officer of the army in 1865. He painted “the battle of Lisa” for the King of Austria in 1886. In 1869, he executed for Versailles, a painting called “the second battle between the Japanese army and the allies”. Later, he even worked for the Russian Emperor representing the ‘The Combat of Singapore’. Works in the following museums: Versailles, marine (Paris), Malmaison, Chateau d ’Eu, Palais de l ’Elysée, Bordeaux, Laval, Nantes, Torigni-sur-Vire and Victoria & Albert.