Leonid Frechkop, Mountain Chalets, Oil Painting On Canvas, 1932

This early 20th-century oil painting on canvas by Russian-Belgian artist Leonid Frechkop (1897–1982) depicts a landscape with chalets in the foreground, a forest, and a range of mountains in the background. The striking composition crops the chalets to show only their roofs, focusing on the mountain peaks and the dramatic sky. Expressionist brushstrokes add texture to the grey and brown roofs, echoing the sunlight filtering through the clouds, and contrasting with the hazy greens and blues of the mountains. Distinctive details—from the chimneys and the shape of the roofs to the mysterious smoke in the mountains—add tension to this otherwise calm scene. With its modern composition and bold use of colour, this atmospheric work is signed and dated 1932 at the front and mounted in an antique Montparnasse frame.

Leonid Frechkop was born in Moscow and pursued his artistic education at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, as well as the Imperial Academy of Arts. There, he studied under prominent Russian artists such as Konstantin Korovin, Abram Arkhipov, and Nikolay Kasatkin. After fleeing Russia in 1921, Frechkop made his way through France before finally settling in Belgium in 1922. He gained recognition for his distinctive portraits and surrealist landscapes.

• Dimensions with frame: 54 x 62
• Canvas dimensions: 38 x 46 cm
• Small losses to two corners
• Mounted in an antique Montparnasse frame
• Signed 'L. Frechkop' at the front and dated 1932