Louis Marie Blanchard (1871-1939) Florane Says, The Discussion, Oil On Cardboard, 1925

Louis Marie Emile Blanchard, known as Florane (1869 Castanet Tolosan - 1939 Montvicq) is a French painter, draftsman and illustrator.
The discussion, 1925
Oil on cardboard
58 x 38.2 cm (view)
67 x 47 cm (framed)
Annotation on reverse: 1925 Page 54 Florane's catalog

Florane studied at the School of Fine Arts in Toulouse. He began as an illustrator in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century, during which time he became friends with Charles Léandre, Steinlen and Toulouse Lautrec. He made many trips where he painted Touraine, Brittany, Provence, the Côte d'Azur, but also Tuscany, Naples ...
Florane represents here, with a touch almost caricature, two elderly people discussing in a winter landscape . We see in the distance a procession heading towards the village, surely at the time of a burial, which would explain the black clothing of the two characters. The scene is probably in the south of France considering the poplars represented in the background. The painting, annotated on the reverse, is dated 1925. Florane had left Paris and lived in Nassigny, near Montlucon.