Featured Help with oil painting

Picked this up at the local flea for $25 because, I don't know why, but it spoke to me.

I Googled "Louis Van Velthem" which appears on the sticker on the back and got a lot of nonsense about music stars. I assume it was a business that sold the painting at some point.

It measures 10-3/8" x 15-1/8" including the frame. I pulled back the paper tape on the top back and it seems to be painted on some kind of particle board held into the frame with small nails.

There is some damage to the frame. I tried cleaning off some of the painting and didn't get much. I think it isn't dirty, I think the colors are what they look like.

If you guys need me to I can take the painting out of the frame to see if more of the signature is revealed, but I was hoping not to have to do that. What I see is "P. R. Routendier".

AI came up with some info but I am not a fan of AI:
"It seems you're asking about the artist P.R. Routendier. Unfortunately, there's very limited information available about this artist online.

P.R. Routendier is a listed artist. He is mentioned in auction records and art databases. However, these listings lack biographical information, style details, or images of the work.

P.R. Routendier is a recognized artist, but information about the life, career, or specific art is not readily accessible on the internet. He may be an obscure artist or one who is not well-documented online.

Contacting art auction houses may provide records or information about past sales of the work. Consulting art databases and libraries may also provide more details about this artist. Searching for physical auction catalogs may provide further information about an artist."

If anyone can come up with any leads on this I would really appreciate it

 

normally I'd say the frame is over the top...but in this case it does seem to be an excellent choice for this artwork !!!!!

nice find !!!

 

I wonder how AI came up with that info, as I can't find anything on P.R. Routendier, nor any other Routendier, and the name seems to be Boulengier.
There was a Hippolyte Boulenger (or Boulanger; but not Boulangier),a Belgian landscape painter and some of his paintings do look like this one. Could this be after Boulenger/Boulanger, with an incorrect spelling of his name?

 

Are you sure about the particle board? Would/could you post a photograph?

Deborav

 

I see "P. R. Boulengier."

Debora

 

Hi Debora, I peeled the take back on the top. If this doesn't show enough let me know and I'll remove the whole backing.

I will try searching P. R. Boulengier.

 

Heres a photo of the street the framer was located on. Completely useless info but it's the best I can muster.

https://leuven.weleer.be/diestsestraat/637

 

A third for P.R. Boulengier.
Like Marote I thought it was a version of Boulanger (Baker), and I did find Boulengier as an alternative Belgian spelling. Maybe it is old Walloon, a Belgian language that has almost died out. As such, it could be used as a surname, just like Boulanger.

The usual AI nonsense, a total waste of time.

 

I, for one, think old photographs of locations are very helpful. We now know the framer was on an important commercial street which could be an indication as to quality and expense.

Debora

 

Can you post a close up of the signature? It pixilates when I enlarge it. I just got back from Belgium and one of our friends is an art collector. His father was a Museum director. If the name is a known Belgian artist, Francis can probably give us information

 

Interesting painting. I too woulda grabbed it if I had seen it.

 

It seems a lot of the street was completely destroyed during WWI. Not sure if this would have been framed before or after the event. I'm surprised I can't find any other reference to the business. You would have thought at least one other painting framed by them would have been documented. Also not sure whether to do searches in French or Belgian, as both are used. In fact the street address seems to be in three languages.

 

Me too. I like how the artist has raised the sightline. Changes the gate from a feature of the landscape to the focus.

Debora

 

So many answers would be available to us if someone on the forum was knowledgable about fonts. (Wish I were.)

Debora

 

How would fonts assist?

 

Fonts are continually being created and go in and out of popularity. For instance, Helvetica, which is ubiquitous, was developed in 1957. So any printed piece using Helvetica can't be earlier.

Hum... This could help:

https://www.myfonts.com/pages/whatthefont

Identified as Copperplate which was developed in 1901. Interestingly, Copperplate was designed in capitals only and one can see that the minor copy on the label is in a different type face so that may be correct.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copperplate_Gothic

Debora

 

Ah yes. Never even thought of that. We need a font app!

Oh you beat me to it. I got copperplate too.

There seems to be a few different results for the lower case text whereas the capital letters mainly yield copperplate fonts.

 

Making a few assumptions along the way... Copperplate alone tells us the work may be early 20th century.

Debora

 

It is in two languages, French and Dutch.
Belgium has three official languages, Dutch, French and German. German is only spoken in a very small region.

Leuven is a town in Belgian Brabant, and the people speak Dutch.
However, in the days this painting was made and sold, the French-speaking community was dominant, even in Dutch-speaking regions where the majority of the population lived. So texts were in French first, then in Dutch.

 

When I googled the address on the back diestsche straat, Google offered an alternative diestsestraat, so another variation.