Medium/Large Size, Late 19th Century French Nautical Seascape by Édouard-Jacques Dufeu (1836–1900)

A dramatic late-19th-century French seascape by Édouard-Jacques Dufeu (1836–1900), painted with sweeping atmosphere and subtle light. A good size, measuring approximately 28 inches wide (72cm), this original nautical oil on wood panel has recently undergone professional cleaning and revarnishing, restoring its depth, colour and clarity.

This evocative marine painting captures a pair of sailboats navigating a restless grey-blue sea beneath a shifting sky. Dufeu’s atmospheric brushwork, soft horizon, dark rolling water, and luminous breaks of light reflects the Romantic marine tradition that flourished in France in the late 1800s. The faint but legible signature is typical of Dufeu’s later period, when his palette grew more subdued and tonal.

The painting has just returned from a professional restorer, where it received a full surface clean and fresh varnish. The ocean tones now read with renewed vibrancy, and the sky’s layered effects are once again visible through the varnish’s gentle gloss. Presented in its period gilt frame with rich ornament and excellent proportions, the work has strong decorative presence and a classic maritime elegance. Good antique condition. Clean, stable surface with fresh varnish. Frame with age-appropriate patina and minor wear consistent with time.

French School
Édouard-Jacques Dufeu (1836–1900)
Oil on Wood Panel
Circa 1880–1900
Original gilt frame
Professionally cleaned and revarnished
Signature faint but present

Artist Bio — Édouard-Jacques Dufeu (1836–1900):
Édouard-Jacques Dufeu was a French painter born in Bordeaux in 1836. Best known for his marine and coastal landscapes, he trained in Paris and exhibited at the Paris Salon from the 1860s onward. Dufeu’s work is admired for its atmospheric handling of sea and sky, capturing shifting weather, mist, and light with subtle tonal harmony. His paintings reflect the influence of the mid-century French Naturalist tradition and the Romantic fascination with nature’s vastness. Dufeu’s works appear in several French regional museum collections and occasionally in major Salon-era surveys. Today he is recognised as a skilled 19th-century marine painter whose works remain prized for their mood, craftsmanship and poetic restraint.

Sizing incl Frame:
Height: 28.35 inch (72cm)
Width: 18.90 inch (48cm)
Depth: 3.15 inch (8cm)

Sizing Painting:
Height: 9.84 inch (25cm)
Width: 19.69 inch (50cm)
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