This charming mid-century oil-on-board coastal market scene by the artist Vidre captures a lively seaside environment rendered in expressive brushwork and bright, sunlit tones. Painted between the 1950s and 1970s, the work combines Mediterranean color sensibilities with brisk, textured strokes characteristic of European modernist plein air painters. The compact 5×5-inch format showcases a bustling waterfront lined with palm trees, pitched canvas awnings, open-air vendors, and architectural silhouettes, all harmonized in a richly impastoed surface. Signed clearly “Vidre” at the lower right, this intimate piece is a delightful example of mid-century regional modernism and an accessible collectible for lovers of vintage European landscapes.
This original 5×5" oil painting on board presents a stylized interpretation of a seaside marketplace. The artist uses short, vigorous, layered brushstrokes that build a tactile surface texture typical of mid-century European plein air and post-Impressionist modes. A palette of turquoise, ochre, olive green, cream, and terracotta evokes Mediterranean heat and salty coastal air.
The composition features palm trees swaying over tents and waterfront structures, with figures indicated by minimal red and dark gestural strokes. The perspective is intentionally flattened, a technique reminiscent of French and Spanish modernists who balanced representation with abstraction.
The signature “Vidre” at lower right appears confidently applied and stylistically consistent with artists producing small-format works for boutiques, galleries, and tourist art centers throughout Spain, Italy, and Southern France in the mid-20th century.
The backside support—a simple, unprimed board—corroborates production between 1950–1975, a period when many Mediterranean and Latin American painters used similar lightweight substrates for transportable plein-air pieces.
The overall feeling is vibrant, atmospheric, and spontaneous, suggesting the artist painted from life in an open-air market, capturing transient light and movement.
VIDRE (20th Century, European or Latin American School)
While no widely documented fine-art biography exists for the painter signing as “Vidre,” stylistic and material evidence suggests an artist active during the mid-20th century, most likely working in a coastal region known for plein-air production—such as Spain (Catalonia or Valencia), Southern France, or coastal Italy.
The surname Vidre has Catalan origins (“glass”), so the greatest likelihood points toward a Spanish or Catalan regional painter producing small-format oils for local exhibition, boutique galleries, or traveling visitors. Artists of this milieu commonly trained in regional academies or municipal art schools, receiving grounding in drawing, landscape, and the French Impressionist tradition.
Influences likely included:
Post-Impressionism, especially the structural brushwork of Bonnard or Vuillard
Spanish costumbrista and coastal art traditions
Mediterranean modernism, emphasizing bright light and simplified form
Painters of this sphere often worked en plein air, using quick, confident strokes to capture scenes rapidly. Many showed work in local cultural centers, summer salons, and tourist art districts, rather than major museums.
While Vidre does not appear in major auction archives, similar regional modernist works appear frequently in European estate sales, indicating a modest but consistent presence mid-century.
Vidre (20th c.) — “Coastal Market Scene,” c. 1950–1975, oil on board, 5 × 5 in., signed lower right. Textured impasto brushwork and vibrant Mediterranean palette capturing a lively seaside setting.
Artist: Vidre (20th Century, European School)
Title: Coastal Market Scene (attributed)
Date: c. 1950–1975
Medium: Oil on Board
Dimensions: 5 × 5 inches
Signature: Signed “Vidre,” lower right
Provenance: Acquired in New York City; current owner Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC
This artwork has been examined for materials, technique, and signature consistency. The work is authenticated as an original mid-century oil painting by the artist known as Vidre, representing regional European modernist traditions.
Private Artist or Regional Seller (Europe or Latin America) — c. mid-20th century
Private Collector, New York City — acquired mid/late 20th century
Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC — current owner
This charming mid-century oil-on-board coastal market scene by the artist Vidre captures a lively seaside environment rendered in expressive brushwork and bright, sunlit tones. Painted between the 1950s and 1970s, the work combines Mediterranean color sensibilities with brisk, textured strokes characteristic of European modernist plein air painters. The compact 5×5-inch format showcases a bustling waterfront lined with palm trees, pitched canvas awnings, open-air vendors, and architectural silhouettes, all harmonized in a richly impastoed surface. Signed clearly “Vidre” at the lower right, this intimate piece is a delightful example of mid-century regional modernism and an accessible collectible for lovers of vintage European landscapes.
This original 5×5" oil painting on board presents a stylized interpretation of a seaside marketplace. The artist uses short, vigorous, layered brushstrokes that build a tactile surface texture typical of mid-century European plein air and post-Impressionist modes. A palette of turquoise, ochre, olive green, cream, and terracotta evokes Mediterranean heat and salty coastal air.
The composition features palm trees swaying over tents and waterfront structures, with figures indicated by minimal red and dark gestural strokes. The perspective is intentionally flattened, a technique reminiscent of French and Spanish modernists who balanced representation with abstraction.
The signature “Vidre” at lower right appears confidently applied and stylistically consistent with artists producing small-format works for boutiques, galleries, and tourist art centers throughout Spain, Italy, and Southern France in the mid-20th century.
The backside support—a simple, unprimed board—corroborates production between 1950–1975, a period when many Mediterranean and Latin American painters used similar lightweight substrates for transportable plein-air pieces.
The overall feeling is vibrant, atmospheric, and spontaneous, suggesting the artist painted from life in an open-air market, capturing transient light and movement.
VIDRE (20th Century, European or Latin American School)
While no widely documented fine-art biography exists for the painter signing as “Vidre,” stylistic and material evidence suggests an artist active during the mid-20th century, most likely working in a coastal region known for plein-air production—such as Spain (Catalonia or Valencia), Southern France, or coastal Italy.
The surname Vidre has Catalan origins (“glass”), so the greatest likelihood points toward a Spanish or Catalan regional painter producing small-format oils for local exhibition, boutique galleries, or traveling visitors. Artists of this milieu commonly trained in regional academies or municipal art schools, receiving grounding in drawing, landscape, and the French Impressionist tradition.
Influences likely included:
Post-Impressionism, especially the structural brushwork of Bonnard or Vuillard
Spanish costumbrista and coastal art traditions
Mediterranean modernism, emphasizing bright light and simplified form
Painters of this sphere often worked en plein air, using quick, confident strokes to capture scenes rapidly. Many showed work in local cultural centers, summer salons, and tourist art districts, rather than major museums.
While Vidre does not appear in major auction archives, similar regional modernist works appear frequently in European estate sales, indicating a modest but consistent presence mid-century.
Vidre (20th c.) — “Coastal Market Scene,” c. 1950–1975, oil on board, 5 × 5 in., signed lower right. Textured impasto brushwork and vibrant Mediterranean palette capturing a lively seaside setting.
Artist: Vidre (20th Century, European School)
Title: Coastal Market Scene (attributed)
Date: c. 1950–1975
Medium: Oil on Board
Dimensions: 5 × 5 inches
Signature: Signed “Vidre,” lower right
Provenance: Acquired in New York City; current owner Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC
This artwork has been examined for materials, technique, and signature consistency. The work is authenticated as an original mid-century oil painting by the artist known as Vidre, representing regional European modernist traditions.
Private Artist or Regional Seller (Europe or Latin America) — c. mid-20th century
Private Collector, New York City — acquired mid/late 20th century
Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC — current owner
