Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr. (1877–1957) Lake Windermere British Oil Landscape
Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr. (1877–1957) Lake Windermere British Landscape Oil Painting
An atmospheric early 20th-century Lake District landscape, signed “A. Fontville” and further signed and titled “Lake Windermere” on the reverse.
Highlights
• Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr. (British, 1877–1957)
• Lake Windermere
• Early 20th century
• Oil on canvas
• Signed “A. FONTVILLE” lower right
• Further signed and inscribed “Lake Windermere / A. FONTVILLE” verso
• Expansive Lake District landscape with cattle and a solitary figure
• Dramatic warm evening illumination across the distant fells
• Substantial decorative gilt frame
• Documented UK auction provenance
• Extensive attribution research undertaken
• Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution included
Introduction
An evocative and luminous view of Lake Windermere by British landscape painter Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr. (1877–1957).
Across this expansive composition, the tranquillity of Windermere is contrasted with the grandeur of the surrounding mountains. Cattle stand quietly in the shallows beside a solitary figure, while the lake leads the eye towards successive ranges of distant fells softened by atmospheric haze.
The principal mountain provides the painting’s dramatic focus. Its slopes catch warm evening light in passages of russet, ochre, rose and glowing orange, emerging strikingly from the cooler mauves, greens and blue-grey tones surrounding it.
Of particular significance is the artist’s signature. The painting is signed “A. FONTVILLE” lower right and further signed and inscribed on the reverse:
“Lake Windermere
A. FONTVILLE”
Published specialist research records “A. Fontville” as an alternative signature used by Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr., providing important supporting evidence for the attribution.
Catalogue Details
Artist: Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr.
Nationality: British
Dates: 1877–1957
Title: Lake Windermere
Date: Early 20th century
Medium: Oil on canvas
Signature: Signed “A. FONTVILLE” lower right
Verso: Further signed and inscribed “Lake Windermere / A. FONTVILLE”
Subject: Lake Windermere, Lake District, Cumbria, England
Frame: Substantial decorative gilt frame
Catalogue Note
Light and atmosphere provide the principal drama within this Lake District composition.
The immediate foreground is deliberately subdued. Rocks, reeds, grasses and vegetation establish the near shore, where cattle wade quietly through the shallow water. A solitary standing figure introduces a human presence and sense of scale while remaining subordinate to the surrounding landscape.
Beyond, Windermere creates a broad reflective interval before the landscape rises through successive ranges of mountains. The more distant fells are handled in restrained mauve, violet and blue-grey tonalities, allowing them gradually to dissolve into atmospheric distance.
Against these cooler passages, the principal illuminated mountain becomes the visual focus of the painting as warm evening light catches its slopes.
Close examination reveals considerable variation in the handling of the paint. The sky, distant landscape and areas of water are comparatively smoothly worked, whereas the illuminated mountainside, rocks, vegetation and foreground contain more vigorous broken brushwork and passages of pronounced texture.
This combination of naturalistic observation, atmospheric recession and heightened colour transforms the scene from a straightforward topographical view into a study of transient light across the English landscape.
The Artist
Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr. was born in London in 1877 into an established artistic family.
His father, Alfred de Breanski Sr., became particularly associated with mountainous landscapes of Scotland and Wales. His mother, Annie Roberts, was also an artist. The younger Alfred therefore grew up within an unusually concentrated artistic environment before undertaking formal study at St Martin’s School of Art in London.
His subsequent development included time in France, and his mature landscapes demonstrate an increasing interest in colour, changing illumination and atmospheric effects while retaining the mountainous and waterside subjects closely associated with the de Breanski tradition.
De Breanski Jr. exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of British Artists.
Documented Royal Academy exhibits include A Cottage Garden (1907), Summer (1912), Willows (1914) and Autumn Gold (1917).
His work is also represented in institutional collections. The UK Government Art Collection holds The Borders of Loch Fyne, an oil on canvas depicting cattle within a mountainous waterside landscape.
The “A. Fontville” Signature
The signature is an important element in the attribution of the present painting.
Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr. is documented as having used several forms of signature during his career. Specialist biographical research records that, in addition to variants of the de Breanski surname, he occasionally signed paintings “A. Fontville.”
This is particularly relevant because the present painting carries that signature clearly at lower right.
An important documented comparison is Llyn Ogwen, North Wales, catalogued by Christie’s as a work by Alfred Fontville de Breanski. That painting is likewise signed “A. FONTVILLE” and further signed and identified on the reverse.
The present work follows the same significant pattern:
Front: “A. FONTVILLE”
Reverse: “Lake Windermere / A. FONTVILLE”
Other documented works demonstrate de Breanski Jr.’s broader practice of signing and identifying landscapes on the reverse.
Taken together, the signature, corresponding verso inscription, subject matter, technique, comparative documented works and established auction provenance provide a substantial body of evidence supporting the attribution to Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr.
Exhibition History of the Artist
Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr. exhibited at important London venues including the Royal Academy and Royal Society of British Artists.
Documented Royal Academy exhibits include:
1907 – A Cottage Garden
1912 – Summer
1914 – Willows
1917 – Autumn Gold
This exhibition history relates to the artist generally. No claim is made that the present Lake Windermere was itself exhibited at the Royal Academy or Royal Society of British Artists.
Lake Windermere
Windermere has occupied an important position within British landscape culture for generations. Its long expanse of water, surrounding fells and rapidly changing weather provide an exceptional range of atmospheric effects.
In the present work, architecture and obvious signs of modern life have been almost entirely removed. Instead, de Breanski concentrates upon water, mountains, cattle and illumination.
The small pastoral elements provide scale, but the dominant subject remains the natural landscape and the fleeting moment when warm light strikes the distant mountains.
Importantly, the identification of the location does not depend upon modern interpretation: the artist’s own verso inscription identifies the subject specifically as “Lake Windermere.”
Provenance
Private collection, United Kingdom.
BFA Auctioneers Ltd, trading as Bigwood Auctioneers, Tiddington, Stratford-upon-Avon, 10 January 2025, Lot 89.
The auction house catalogued Lot 89 as a pair of oil paintings on canvas by Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jnr (1877–1957), including Lake Windermere.
Acquired from the above by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD.
Dimensions
Overall framed:
Height: 71.5 cm
Width: 92 cm
Depth: 10 cm
Hanging fitting present to the reverse.
Condition Report
The painting presents well overall for its age.
The canvas displays age-related craquelure, variations in surface tonality and minor surface marks consistent with an antique oil painting. Areas of pronounced paint texture and broken brushwork are visible particularly across the illuminated mountain, vegetation, rocks and foreground.
The substantial decorative gilt frame displays expected age-related wear, including rubbing, cracking, small decorative losses and areas of historic retouching to the gilt surface. Visible age-related cracking and separation are present to portions of the applied ornament.
The frame is considered complementary to the painting; no claim is made that it is conclusively the artist’s original frame without documentary evidence establishing this.
Please study all photographs carefully, as they form an integral part of the condition report and include detailed views of the painted surface, signature, verso, canvas, inscription and frame.
Shipping
Worldwide shipping is available.
Owing to the substantial dimensions and weight of the framed painting, it will be professionally packaged using appropriate protective materials and dispatched fully insured.
International buyers are welcome. Please contact us for a destination-specific delivery quotation or to discuss any particular shipping requirements.
Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution
The artwork will be supplied with a Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution issued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, recording the artwork’s catalogue details, attribution, provenance as stated, and details of the sale. This document accompanies the work as part of its ongoing ownership and provenance record.
Attribution and Research
The historical observations, provenance research, attribution analysis and contextual commentary presented within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. They are offered in good faith as informed scholarly assessments based upon the available evidence, comparative research, published reference material and our experience within the international fine art market.
These observations should be understood as professional opinions rather than definitive statements of fact or guarantees of authorship, attribution, date, origin, provenance or historical interpretation. As with all historic works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.
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