British Impressionists
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SOLDJean-Jacques Berne-Bellecour (1874 - 1939):
Two British Officers playing cards outside their dugout, Secteur de Bapaume, 1918–20
Framed (ref: 2587)
Signed and dated, inscribed ‘Secteur de Bapaume 1918’
Oil on canvas, 18 1/2 x 24 1/2 in. (47 x 62.3 cm.)
See all works by Jean-Jacques Berne-Bellecour oil men war work
Provenance: Private collection, France.
Literature: Jean-Jacques Berne-Bellecour , Dans les Lignes Anglaises, 1917.
Berne-Bellacour
served at the Battle of the Marne, during which he made some
drawings.These were so well received that he was appointed Peintre du
Ministère de la Guerre et du Musée de l’Armée, and he continued to
sketch French and English troops in this capacity.
In 1917 he
produced a celebrated series of watercolours, which were reproduced as
photogravure prints in a portfolio entitled Dans les Lignes
Anglaises.
In this book, he wrote of his fascination with the smartness of British
Officers under all conditions: ‘these English Officers in every
circumstance of their existence look as if they had just come out of
their bathroom.’This is a rare example by the artist of a painting in
oil, showing two British soldiers of the Secteur de Bapaume, best known
for its role in the Somme offensive of 1916.
