Oil on canvas (33 x 41 cm), signed Edouard Cortès, old relined, gilded frame (Gabriel Van Thienen, Brussels)
Edouard Leon Cortes was born into a family of artists and artisans in Paris, 1882. In his youth, Cortes trained at his father's studio and was given advice and encouragement from his brother (also a painter) and local artists. At the young age of 16, Cortes exhibited his work at the national exhibition of the Société des Artistes Français in Paris. He would later became a member of the French Artist Society where he exhibited regularly and developed a following for his atmospheric landscape, still life and French street scenes in pastel, watercolor and oil. Edouard Leon Cortes would continue to paint until his death in 1969.