Pierre Billet (1836-1922) Oil On Canvas Mountain Landscape 1898

Mountain landscape, oil on canvas by Pierre Billet, French painter born in 1836 in Cantin in the North and died in the same town in 1922.
Signed and dated 1898 lower right.
Good condition ; note a slight lack of paint in the sky and a small retouch at the top left.
Dimensions outside frame : 40.5 x 27.5 cm.
Dimensions with frame : 52 x 39 cm.
Pierre Billet is the son of an industrialist established in Cantin. He abandoned this activity around the age of 30, to devote himself to his favorite art, painting. The illustrious naturalist painter Jules Breton came to Cantin during the summer of 1867 to paint with him and give him advice.
Very quickly, thanks to Jules Breton who largely influenced him in his art, his technique and the choice of subjects, Pierre Billet was admitted to the Paris Salon. It then presents rural scenes, peasant women at work, then maritime scenes.
Pierre Billet also actively participates in regional exhibitions in the North of France.
From the 1890s, Pierre Billet moved his art towards more modernity. He broke away from the teaching of Jules Breton and adopted a freer style.