French School; 20th century.

French School; 20th century.
“Garden in Hamm (Senegal), 1935.
Oil on panel.
The frame is damaged.
Signed “F. Avice,” dated, and titled.
Measurements: 31 x 40 cm; 42 x 51 cm (frame).
The work depicts a lush garden in Hamm, Senegal, captured in intense light and with a marked sensitivity to atmospheric effects. The composition is structured around a path that winds through the vegetation, surrounded by palm trees, shrubs, and flower beds rich in color. The artist forgoes meticulous detail in favor of loose, vibrant, and spontaneous brushstrokes, constructing the scene through small patches and dabs of color.
In this sense, the work reveals the influence of French Impressionism, particularly in its focus on capturing the immediate perception of the landscape and the variations in light. Space is defined not only through the drawing but also through the juxtaposition of warm and cool colors, while the visible brushstrokes lend movement and luminosity to the vegetation. The atmosphere and visual sensation of the moment thus take on greater importance than a precise topographical description.This Impressionist sensibility is combined with the experience of an African colonial landscape, where the intensity of the light, the exuberance of the vegetation, and the variety of greens, ochres, yellows, and reddish tones offer the artist a particularly conducive setting for chromatic experimentation. The work is therefore part of a tradition of French landscape painting developed outside of Europe, in which exposure to new lighting conditions and tropical landscapes expanded the expressive possibilities inherited from plein air painting.