Fishing Along the Riverbank by Marie-François Firmin-Girard

Marie-François Firmin-Girard (French, 1838–1921)
Fishing Along the Riverbank, 1881
Oil on canvas
22 × 15 in
Signed and dated lower left

In Fishing Along the Riverbank, Firmin-Girard depicts a family gathered beside a quiet stream, pausing between labor and leisure. The figures, dressed in regional costume, are carefully arranged along a wooded path as nets are prepared and baskets filled. Autumn foliage and reflected light on the water frame the scene, grounding the moment in the seasonal rhythms of rural life and emphasizing the shared work that binds the group together.

Painted in 1881, the work exemplifies Firmin-Girard’s refined approach to genre painting, for which he was widely admired at the Paris Salon. Trained under Alexandre Cabanel, he became known for scenes celebrating family, tradition, and the French countryside, rendered with academic precision and narrative clarity. Here, the artist combines picturesque detail with quiet storytelling, reflecting late nineteenth-century France’s enduring fascination with pastoral subjects as symbols of stability and continuity amid social change.

Provenance:

Christie's, New York, 1 May 2000, lot 115
Estate of Seymour Epstein
Private Collection, Toronto, ON