Post-impressionist oil on canvas signed Sohier, 1980

Post-Impressionist oil on canvas depicting a woodland scene in spring, signed Sohier and dated 1980.

The composition is structured around a succession of vertical tree trunks, opening at its centre onto a luminous clearing. The pale silhouettes of birch trees cut across a denser group of darker trunks, while shades of green and blue mingle with earthy tones in loosely rendered vegetation.

Moving away from a strictly naturalistic depiction, the artist gives precedence to texture, rhythm and colour. Applied with a brush in impasto, scumbled passages and broken strokes, the paint lends the landscape an almost abstract quality when viewed at close range. The work continues the tradition of Post-Impressionist landscape painting while displaying the more expressionistic sensibility characteristic of the second half of the 20th century.

The reverse of the canvas bears a lengthy handwritten dedication by the artist, referring to “the forest in spring”, together with the date 1980. The painting is presented in its original or period white-painted wooden frame.

In good overall condition. The canvas shows light signs of age, with no significant paint loss visible. The frame displays minor marks, surface dirt and small areas of wear consistent with age, as shown in the photographs.

Dimensions without frame: 80.5 × 65 cm
Dimensions with frame: 86 × 70.5 cm