Help ID the painter, 19th Century oil on canvas

We found this gem on an auction in France. At first, it peaked our interest due to its artistic quality. The vibrant brush strokes and mastery of light and shadow are simply astounding. Now that we have it in our gallery, we started digging to find the painter and it turns out to be much more difficult than we expected. Because this painting is for sale, we would like to know as much as possible about it. Instead of a signature, in the bottom right corner, we can find “Bohémiens et Saltimbanques” (Bohemians and Acrobats) – the painting's title. Apart from that, we couldn't identify any other marks that the author could have left. The canvas has been relined and repaired so maybe there was something on the back, but now it's impossible to get to it.


So we hit a brick wall when it comes to identifying the painter. We know that this theme (Bohemia) was very popular in in 19th Century, especially in Spain. This particular work may have been painted in France, though. Any ideas? Can you identify anything characteristic features that could help us find the artist?


Some more info:

Dimensions: 72 x 94 cm

Dimensions in frame: 100 x 120 cm

 

Beautiful painting. Not within my area of expertise (if I have any) but it reminds me a bit of the work of Eugène Delacroix or, less so, Adrien Moreau.

 

Indeed, there is a hint of Delacroix but that would be an extremely risky assessment.

I was wondering whether this could be a lesser known work by Gustave Doré. It might be a stretch, especially that Doré did sign his works, and he worked mainly as an illustrator (and it almost sounds too good to be true). And yet he lived in the correct period, he used strong central lighting, and he had a romanticized style in painting.

I realize that this might be a huge leap of faith. His work did focus on engravings and illustrations (which was fantastic, because his illustrations are absolutely stunning).

 

I'd simply list or advertise it as French Romantic school, early 19th C.

I'd price it at whatever would give a reasonable profit.

 

Perhaps contact one of the big auction galleries and see what they say.

 

I always contact Skinners when have a real nice painting. Usually Robin Starr.

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll be sure to contact her.