A pupil of Alexandre Gabriel Decamps and an exhibitor at the Paris Salon from 1841- 67, he focused on views of the Maghreb countries but also painted landscapes of Normandy and Provence.
This 2ft 1in x 2ft 7in (64 x 78cm) oil on canvas of a French patisserie is not a subject he typically painted. The signed and indistinctly picture titled French Delicacies was offered at Mallams (25% buyer’s premium) in Oxford on March 8 and drew multiple bids before it was knocked down at £5000, over three times the top guide.
It was not the first time the picture had appeared on the auction block. Christie’s sold it back in June 1999 for £4500 but catalogued it as ‘Louis Tesson (French, 20th Century)’ and interpreted the date as 1949 – nearly 80 years after Tesson’s death.
