Considered among the last of the true Impressionists, the diverse Dyf is collected beyond his native France and is known for landscapes, still-lives and portraits.
Typical of his still-lives, Lilac and Roses depicts a white jug filled with flowers against a pale background. Though faded, the 2ft 1in x 21in (65 x 54cm) oil had been privately consigned to the sale and had been unseen on the market for ‘several decades’. Plenty of pre-sale interest materialised into bids on the day and it was pursued to £6000 against a £2500-3500 estimate, hammered down to a gallery bidding online.
Competition emerged elsewhere in the sale for a 17in x 2ft 1in (43 x 65cm) gouache of an erupting Vesuvius alongside a companion piece of the same subject. Inherited by a local private vendor who was downsizing, the works were unsigned but were confidently attributed to the Italian artist Camillo de Vito (fl.1790-1835).
The painter excelled in pictures of the erupting volcano, probably producing them for wealthy tourists who travelled to Naples during the 19th century.
In later frames, possibly from the 1980s, the examples had survived in good condition and had never been displayed by the vendor. The pair was hammered down on commission to a French private buyer for a multi-estimate £2600.
