Oil Landscape Lake Windermere Evening Light By Alfred Fontville De Breanski Jr

Lake Windermere in Evening Light by Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr. c.1920

An atmospheric early 20th-century British landscape capturing cattle beside the waters of Windermere as the surrounding mountains are transformed by warm evening light.

Signed “A. FONTVILLE” lower right and further signed and inscribed “Lake Windermere / A. FONTVILLE” on the reverse.

Highlights

• Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr. (British, 1877–1957)
• *Lake Windermere*
• Early 20th century, circa 1920
• Oil on canvas
• Signed “A. FONTVILLE” lower right
• Further signed and titled verso
• Cattle wading beside a solitary figure
• English Lake District landscape
• Dramatic evening illumination across the mountains
• Substantial decorative gilt frame
• Documented UK auction provenance
• Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution included

Introduction

A wonderfully atmospheric view of Lake Windermere by British landscape painter Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr. (1877–1957).

Cattle stand quietly in the shallows beside a solitary figure, while the lake extends towards successive ranges of mountainous scenery. One prominent fell catches the remaining warmth of the day in glowing passages of russet, ochre, orange and muted rose, contrasting beautifully with the cooler mauves, greens and blue-grey tones of the surrounding landscape.

The broad horizontal composition and substantial decorative gilt frame give the painting considerable presence, while the quiet pastoral subject retains an appealing sense of stillness.

Catalogue Details

Artist: Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr.
Nationality: British
Dates: 1877–1957
Title: Lake Windermere
Date: Early 20th century, circa 1920
Medium: Oil on canvas
Signature: Signed “A. FONTVILLE” lower right
Verso: Signed and inscribed “Lake Windermere / A. FONTVILLE”
Subject: Lake Windermere, Lake District, England
Frame: Substantial decorative gilt frame

Catalogue Note

Light provides the principal drama within this extensive Lake District composition.

The foreground is deliberately restrained. Dark rocks, reeds, grasses and vegetation establish the shoreline, where cattle stand in the shallow water beside a solitary figure.

Beyond them, Windermere forms a broad reflective interval before the landscape rises through successive mountain ranges.

The more distant fells are progressively softened through cooler mauve and blue-grey tonalities, creating atmospheric depth. Against these quieter passages, the principal mountain becomes the visual focus as low evening light catches its slopes.

Warm broken strokes of orange, ochre, russet and rose contrast with the surrounding cooler landscape, suggesting a fleeting moment when the higher ground remains illuminated after the foreground has entered shadow.

The paint handling varies accordingly. The sky, water and distant scenery are comparatively smoothly treated, while stronger and more textured brushwork describes the illuminated mountain, rocks, vegetation and foreground.

The Artist

Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr. was born in London in 1877 into an established family of artists.

His father, Alfred de Breanski Sr., became particularly associated with mountainous landscapes of Scotland and Wales, while his mother, Annie Roberts, was also an artist.

The younger de Breanski studied at St Martin’s School of Art before establishing his own career as a landscape painter.

His work continued the family interest in mountainous and waterside scenery while developing a pronounced sensitivity to colour, atmospheric recession and the changing effects of natural light.

He exhibited at the Royal Academy and Royal Society of British Artists.

Documented Royal Academy exhibits include A Cottage Garden* (1907), Summer (1912), Willows (1914) and Autumn Gold (1917).

The “A. Fontville” Signature

The signature is an important feature of the present painting.

Published specialist research records “A. Fontville” among the signature forms associated with Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr.

The present work carries this signature clearly at lower right:

“A. FONTVILLE”

More significantly, the reverse of the canvas carries the corresponding title and signature:

“Lake Windermere
A. FONTVILLE”

Comparative research has identified documented paintings by de Breanski Jr. carrying the Fontville signature and other examples of his practice of signing and identifying landscapes on the reverse.

A particularly relevant comparison is Llyn Ogwen, North Wales, documented by Christie’s with the “A. FONTVILLE” signature and further identification verso.

The signature, corresponding verso inscription, subject matter, technique, comparative evidence and documented auction attribution together provide strong supporting evidence for the identification of the artist.

Lake Windermere

The identification of the subject is supported directly by the artist’s surviving inscription on the reverse.

Rather than presenting Windermere through architecture or obvious signs of tourism, de Breanski concentrates upon the natural landscape.

The cattle and solitary figure provide scale and quiet pastoral interest, but water, mountains and changing illumination remain dominant.

The resulting scene captures the Lake District not simply as a geographical location but as an atmospheric experience.

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 the lot as a pair of oil paintings on canvas by Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jnr. (1877–1957), including *Lake Windermere*.

The pair realised £1,800 hammer.

Acquired from the above by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD.

The original auction purchase documentation is retained within our records.

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 textured and broken brushwork remain particularly visible across the illuminated mountain, vegetation, rocks and foreground.

The substantial decorative gilt frame displays age-related rubbing, cracking, localised decorative losses and areas of historic retouching to the gilt surface. Visible age-related cracking and separation are present to sections of the applied ornament.

The frame is complementary to the painting, although 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.

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.

Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®

Specialising in carefully curated British and European fine art, antiques and historic works of art.

Every artwork is professionally researched and catalogued using comparative scholarship, published reference material and more than two decades of experience within the international fine art market. We are committed to offering collectors works of artistic and historical merit accompanied by transparent provenance research, detailed catalogue descriptions and professional, client-focused service.

Additional photographs and further information are available upon request.