Edouard Ducros (1856-1936) Almond Tree In Blossom Near Aix En Provence

An almond tree in bloom in a Provençal landscape. A subject tackled by many painters of the Provençal School but which we never tire of. This version is the work of the painter from Aix en Provence, Edouard Ducros who worked on the foothills of Sainte Victoire alongside the illustrious Paul Cézanne. It is done in oil on canvas with generous flat areas of material applied with a knife and brush. It is offered in a frame from the 1930s, gilded and slightly sculpted which measures 42 cm by 55 cm and 33 cm by 46 cm for the canvas alone. In its good original condition, the work is signed lower left.

Edouard Ducros led a brilliant career as a lawyer, attorney and then clerk at the Aix en Provence Court of Appeal, but, at the age of 46, he gave up his position and devoted himself to painting. A student of Louis Gautier and Gagliardini, he exhibited at the Salon d'Artistes Français from 1911 to 1935. In the provinces, he won awards at Versailles, Lyon and Aix en Provence. He is best known as the landscaper of the Etang de Berre. An Impressionist, he is the founder of the Society of Friends of the Arts of Aix-en-Provence, his hometown, frequented in particular by Cézanne with whom he painted the Montagne Sainte Victoire. The Granet Museum has "a view of Martigues" and the Digne Museum has "the laborers around Aix en Provence". His works are kept at the Museums of Aix, Montpellier, Digne and Béziers. His painting The Grand Canal of Martigues was acquired by the city of Paris.