Continental School, Alpine Village Beneath a Rocky Peak, 1928

The watercolour is signed ‘U. J. F. Gösling’ and dated February 1928. We have not been able to trace the artist, and the careful, slightly stiff drawing suggests a skilled amateur. The pale limestone massif and the village houses point to the Tyrol or the Dolomites.

A great block of rock rises above dark pine forest, warm in the light against a grey-blue sky. Below it a village gathers round a church with a tall pointed spire. In the foreground a track runs past a rendered house with a timber awning, where a red cloth hangs on a line.

Watercolour on paper, laid on a buff backing sheet. Signed and dated lower right ‘U.J.F. Gösling Feb. 1928.’ Glazed in a period gilt frame with a crackled surface. The frame has chips and wear to the gilding, and there is a small stain at the top right corner of the sheet.