Leonard Bordes, 'Portrait de Jeune Garçon', Oil Painting on Canvas, 1940s

This outstanding midcentury oil painting on canvas by French painter Leonard Bordes (1898-1969) portrays a young boy sitting on a chair with a proud and resolute expression. Modernist brushwork creates a rich movement, rendering the background and some parts of the jacket with expressive and sumptuous brushstrokes that contrast with darker lines to showcase compelling details in the collar and the features of the face.

The abstract background, the wooden chair, and the simple attire of the young boy reflect his modest origins yet elevate the subject in a classical pose and solemn expression - a gesture typical of Bordes’s later work. Renowned for his work in Rouen, he painted the outskirts of the city and its inhabitants in the aftermath of WW2 with a profound sense of dignity. Authentified by the the artist's daughter at the back of the painting, this impressive work is mounted in a modern Louis XIV-style giltwood frame.