Signed 18th-19th century painting - need help

My new project.
Any knowledge about this artist? I first bought it without knowing it had a signature. The previous owner had no idea what it was and sold it to me as a painting with no signature. Only things which let me to buy than were the numbers and inscriptions on the stretcher which could point out that it was hanging somewhere in a gallery, museum or part of a collection. Looking at it now after all these years and can see very vaguely a signature which I missed the first time, its almost impossible to read.

I believe the signature is made out of two names and followed by a year. The first name probably reads Frank I'm guessing, or does it read something else? (picture below with the paper snip is where the signature stops.)
The signature is partly covered with paint It appears as if the artist signed the canvas first before he started painting.

Need to know the age of the canvas and frame to start research, is it 18th or 19th century? I'm guessing its mid/late 18th century?? Its painted in a unusual style for a painting from that time period. It shows a village scene and two knitting women to the left.

Does somebody has the artist books or knows this style. It was bought in the UK so it can be a English artist? but it could also be Dutch because of the name Frank.

I know its all about details and I got plenty pictures below, maybe that will help.
Any help is welcome

Extra added info:
I'm not familiar with the used styles in during different centuries but I keep an open mind. Many are saying 20th century. It also looks modern to me but the stretcher, frame and canvas are confusing me because they are much older. Its a possibility that somebody used only old canvas to paint on. But why? And is there a record of a artist named frank who's known for this?


I will add some extra info why I'm thinking its older.

When I bought it there were two paintings in offer, this painting and a other painting from the same artist with the signature starting with Frank. This was in a market and a lady was clearing out the house of her mother. There were many people and I could only buy one painting because somebody else snapped the other one away. I had a quick look at the other painting and it was of a man which looked like a peasant/farmer sitting in a dark painted kitchen. The kitchen looked to be in the old 18th/19th century style) and was also painted on a same very old canvas with some old restoration to the back. There were so many people looking for their treasure and I had to act quick to buy it and good only get a glimps of the other signature on the painting starting with Frank with unreadable surname. This means that the other painting and this one were from the same artist.

 

Thats impressionist in style,so Id say more early 20th century.

 

Yes, it looks twentieth century.
It would be nice if you post the pictures on this site though, I only looked at the first one because it takes ages. Many won't look at all.
Just upload the pictures and click on full image.

If you have a close up of the two women, I might be able to date the regional costumes they are wearing.

 

I fully understand why would think that.
That's the exact reason why I purchased the painting! Its much older than 20th century. The frame, stretcher, hammered nails, hand woven canvas and aging points to 18th-19th century or earlier. I find this a very interesting painting to research. Its a very interesting impressionist style for that time period. This artist was way ahead his time

will see if I can edit the topic for better pictures.

 

I ventured to click on one of the links and got an error message.

 

Sorry for that, something went wrong. I've corrected it.

 

You can't use the frame to date the picture since many pictures are reframed at some point. I've seen many newer pictures in antique frames. That style and palette really look 20th century to me.

 

The name Frank is used in different countries.
This particular combination of landscape, architecture, and clothing, indicates it is not Dutch.
The costume of the lady in the back looks like a generic French peasant costume, with a white 'fichu' or kerchief and a white cap with flaps hanging down the sides. This style of dress was still worn in the first half of the twentieth century.
That model white cap was also worn in parts of Belgium. But in Belgium white-washed villages are seen in the flat lowlands, not the hills.
My conclusion, it is French, or at least painted in France, in an early twentieth century style, in the early twentieth century.

 

I fully understand this concept. But I cant agree on that. The canvas is to old to be 20th century, its handwoven and the painting is nailed onto the stretcher with antique hand forged nails. The houses/sheds and the clothes what the knitting women are wearing is typically from 18th/19th century. I'm sure one of the members will agree with me.

 

The lady in the second chair looks black. It may even be from the Mediterranean area.

 

That is an interesting observation. I know that Frank is a very common name. That's the hole confusing thing about it. I was hoping that somebody could narrow this down to a country or timeperiod so I can specific my search better.

So you think it's French. That is absolutely possible. Will defiantly have a look into that. I'm Dutch myself and know that they also were wearing clothing like this in Holland. Also what made me think it was Dutch is because it came with a other painting from a Dutch artist dating the 19th century, but can be anything because many peasant trough Europe were wearing similar styles.


What letter does the surname start with you think?

 

I "might" see a "P" after the Frank - but not sure - can you post a closer up picture of the signature?

 

Don't think she's black, its just the way he/she painted, the other women also has these color on her face with lighter strokes. Any way the houses dont have roofs like that in the Mediterranean, they have flat roofs. We need to focus on country's where it snows and rains because of the pointed roofs .

 

This is the

clossest I could get

 

Looks 20th C to me. Could be an older painting painted over.

Also, artists are not cameras, what goes down on the canvas may be anything from realism to total imagination.

 

I'm not familiar with the used styles in during different centuries but I keep an open mind. Many are saying 20th century. It also looks modern to me but the stretcher and canvas are confusing me. Its absolutely a possibility that somebody used a old canvas to paint on. But why?


I will add some extra info why I'm thinking its older.

When I bought it there were two paintings in offer, this painting and a other painting from the same artist with the signature starting with Frank. This was in a market and a lady was clearing out the house of her mother. There were many people and I could only buy one painting because somebody else snapped the other one away. I had a quick look at the other painting and it was of a man which looked like a peasant/farmer sitting in a dark kitchen. The kitchen looked old (18th/19th century style) and was also painted on a very old canvas with some old restoration. There were so many people looking for their treasure and I had to act quick to buy it and good only get a glimps of the other signature on the painting starting with Frank with unreadable surname. This means that the other painting and this one were from the same artist.

Is it than a artist that only use old canvases?? I don't know, sounds unlikely.

 

I am Dutch too, and have a large collection of Dutch regional costumes. I have most publications on Dutch regional dress from Bing & Braet onwards, including some Bing & Braet/Frans Buffa publication original lithographs. I can assure you that from the 19th century till now there are no Dutch caps that look like that. Most white caps were worn over precious metal frames (oorijzers) anyway, you would at least see some gold glistening through the white.
The north of the country, Friesland, Groningen, Drenthe, West Friesland, did have white kerchiefs for sunday dress, often over silk tops, but different caps, and this is nowhere near the flat, green north of The Netherlands.
It is also hard to find yellow stone and white-washed villages with red roofs and pale blue shutters in the few 'hilly' areas we have.
And look at the way the roof of the first house on the left looks. A Dutchman would have repaired that straight away, after all, what would the neighbours think!

The combination of the yellow and white houses with pale blue shutters and lovely sloping roofs, the villagers and the landscape, reminds me very much of rural parts of Burgundy. Including the picturesque state of disrepair.
But I can't be 100% certain.

 

Artists re-use old canvas because it can be available without paying any cash, something artists are usually very short of. Recycling is nothing new, neither is chucking out stuff that others can use.

 

It's a very charming sketch. I agree on French and not particularly old. The colour of the shutters and scenery ... and the signature is quite a modern hand. Is it painted on sack cloth? It's lovely.

 

I think you have it exactly at the right end. My first thought were also a old sack cloth because of its village street scene and the other painting of the peasant Ive seen, but was not sure if artist did this. That is why I was so confused. Just wanted to make sure it was not older. So it is a possibly a French artist from lets say late 19th century to mid 20th century. That will help focus research to a certain area.