Please ID Antique painting of Hubert Malfait belgian expressionist

Hello everybody!
I have antique expressionist painiting probably of Hubert Malfait. Oil on canvas. Signature in the bottom right corner. Thank you in advance for your reply and kind regards.

 

I am not finding other signatures of his that are similar. A very nice painting in a similar style. (Also, I'm no expert.)

 

Dagamas, I see you're a new member. Would you be kind enough in future to take photographs of paintings from straight on and include both the front and back? Use a neutral background and try to avoid glare. Close-ups of signatures, again against a neutral background and without glare, are also helpful. Then please remember to post them as Full Image rather than Thumbnail so they're easier for everyone to see. I've taken the liberty of reposting one as Full Image for you. Do you see the challenge members might have in trying to see what you see?

Debora

 

Agreed. Interesting painting. I don’t know much but so far I also couldn’t find any convincingly similar signature for him.

 

I found several signatures that are close, and his signatures differed slightly, as signatures often do.
It is also Malfait's style, if I take into consideration that the dark tone is due to dirt. Maybe a former owner was a very heavy smoker.
But I am no expert on Malfait.

White houses are typical of the region in and around beautiful Sint Martens-Latem, where he lived during the later period of his life.
Sint Martens-Latem was known for its Expressionist artist colony, but Malfait said that he only moved to Sint Martens-Latem to get away from the noise in his first house on a busy road in Astene.
The farm labourer looks very dark for a Flemish person, but he could be a Manouche.

As Debora said, it is difficult to get a good view of the painting with the glare etc. Maybe balancing it on your leg while taking a photo is not the best way to get a quality picture.

 

Have to agree with previous posts,it does not appear to be Malfaits signature.In all of his paintings that I have looked at he always signed with a capital H.The first letter in your painting appears more like a J than a H.And the last letter is definitely not a T either an O or S. Matheo or Mathes as surname maybe!

 

Thank you very much for the answer. I'm adding more pictures to the image.

 

I think this painting was painted by Hubert Malfait. The signatures were often different. The subject and technique is very similar.

 

Sorry to say Dagamas,I'm not convinced your painting is by Hubert Malfait.I am not an expert but IMO too many things don't add up,the signature,the black stacks of corn or hay,the brush work is not as heavy as in his paintings,and the whole scene is not a typical Belgian rural scene,so common in Malfaits paintings.

 

Certainly in his style. And he does have a catalogue raisonné. In fact, one of the authors, Piet Vanrobaeys, is a curator at the Flanders Art Institute. Why don't you contact him? He should be able to attribute it (or not) definitely.

https://databank.kunsten.be/en/audi...uratoren/ent:dkb:ppl:1955154/piet-vanrobaeys/

Debora

 

Very thank you for the answer.

 

Yes,definitely the way to go Dagamas.Great sleuthing work again Debora.Hopefully he will be able to give a definitive answer.The art world is all about proof,and attribution.So hope my comments did not seem like I was being argumentative, just my opinion.Well us(" Irysh do like an auld Faction fight where we can get out our shillelaghs and bate all round us").Now Dag don't have me to get out me shillelagh!!!