Featured Place de la Bastille, oil painting mystery signature

Had this for years, oil sketch on mahogany panel, in my opinion 1890-1900 or so. Never been able to figure out who painted it ...

Signature, (first letter) slightly obliterated by a scuff, looks as if it happened while the paint was wet, probably just in handling it. Plainly signed but illegible .. (to me!)

Any and all input gratefully received!!

 

My first stab at the name is "Bhael" (which is a legit surname).

But I'm on my way out the door, so that's all for now.

 

Seriously, I'm going to be late.

But please let me know if this was found in Tennessee or Texas.

The "Bhael" surname is legit (I've seen it on a headstone), but barely. One formerly "Bell" family that changed their name. *intrigue*

 

Found in Western Canada ...

 

Well, paintings and people move, so it doesn't rule anything out, but it is a data point.

These people lived in Paris, Texas and that's really mucking with my searching.

 

hmm. Two artists.

Virginia Bleuel (California)
Egbert Blauel (Canada)

 

Its nice!

 

That first letter is infuriating. Any chance at getting a higher res pic?

 

hmm... "Yhuel" is a legit name.

 

"Yhuel" feels the best to me. BUT. Haven't found an artist to go with the name.

 

It is infuriating, agree there! I don't have a better pic on hand, these were taken eons ago ...sorry

 

I really think Yhuel is a strong possibility. It means the first letter is quirky, but not scuffed away. It explains the slight curves at the top of the lines and the line across the bottom.

The problem is ... "Yhuel" most likely means a French artist and my lack of ability in reading French is a significant stumbling block to research.

 

I have a copy of Benezit. I'll have a look later on. If he or she is French (or any other nationality) it will be in there.

I also have Thieme Becker and I'll check that too and report back when I get back from my library. Thanks @Jivvy

 

Benezit is online https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator:"Bénézit,+E.+(Emmanuel),+1854-1920"

Also Thieme Becker: https://archive.org/details/allgemeineslexi00vollgoog/page/n8

No Yhuels to be found.

 

Finally, a signature that probably would have been a lot easier except for that smudge!

It appears there is an umlaut above the penultimate letter... so Bhaël, Yhaël, Dhaël (et cetera) are possibilities.

 

Also Bhuël, Yhuël, Dhuël (et cetera)

A sound argument can be made that the top of the bowl of the "a" is a spot of paint that's part of the painting, not part of the sig. A similarly colored spot can be seen to the right of the signature.

Not that I have found anything with these reads.

 

So many possibilities!

 

Oh well, maybe some clues will surface in the NEXT 20 years ...