Alexandre Le Bihan

Available for sale from Big Sky Fine Art in the English county of Dorset, this original oil painting is by the French artist Alexandre Le Bihan and dates from the 1870s.<br> The painted surface has benefitted from cleaning, restoration and conservation which was performed on our instruction, supervision and approval.<br> This antique painting is in very good condition, commensurate with its age. It wants for nothing and is supplied ready to hang and display.<br> The painting is presented and supplied in its’ original frame (which is shown in these photographs).<br> The painting is signed lower left.<br> Provenance: Formerly with Wood, Gundy & Co. and William Rivett (Gainsborough Gallery Ltd), 9 Blomfield Street, Liverpool Street, London EC 2.<br> <br> Alexandre Le Bihan was a proficient and respected French artist of the nineteenth century. He was born in Langonnet, Brittany, north- west France on 27 October 1839 and became a pupil of Gleyre and Cabanel. <br> <br> Le Bihan became a versatile artist, known equally for his portraits, and genre scenes. He produced some particularly impressive large landscapes, many of them inspired by Brittany. <br> He had a workshop in Quimper, Brittany then later in Paris.<br> <br> From 1869 to 1900 he was a regular exhibitor at the Salon des Beaux-Arts in Paris. <br> <br> © Big Sky Fine Art<br> <br> This original oil on canvas by French artist Alexandre Le Bihan is a hugely impressive piece, capturing the magnificence of Niagara Falls. <br> <br> This is an expansive view of Niagara Falls from the Canadian side. Niagara Falls is group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The Falls are formed by the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, with the highest flow rate of any waterfall in North American. The waterfall on the left of the painting is American Falls, then the smaller Bridal Veil Falls, then the huge Horseshoe Falls on the right. Horseshoe Falls is also known as the Canadian Falls and actually straddles the international border of Canada and the US. American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls lie within the United States. Bridal Veil Falls is separated from Horseshoe Falls by Goat Island and from American Falls by Luna Island, with both islands situated in New York. The city of Buffalo, NY can be seen in the top left section of the painting. If you look carefully, you can also see the Niagara Falls Lighthouse which was built in 1848 and was in operation until 1925. The lighthouse was designed to help ships navigate the Niagara River and to provide a guide for passengers in the Maid of the Mist boat tour. It was a popular tourist destination and was featured on many old postcards and photographs of Niagara Falls. <br> <br> Niagara Falls are famed for its beauty and sheer breath-taking scale. In the nineteenth century it was a huge attraction for landscape artists. There are obviously many amazing paintings of the Falls, but few as expansive, authentic and well-executed as this particular example, which perfectly captures the famous ‘golden hour’ before sunset.