"The Harvesters" 
Raphaël Dubois aka Chanterou (Belgium, 1888-1960)
Signed bottom left under the pseudonym "Chanterou"
Oil on canvas
23 1/2 x 19 1/4 (27 3/4 x 23 3/4 frame) inches
 
Born in Liege in 1888, he enrolled at the age of fourteen at the Academy of Liege where he studied under Evariste Carpentier. Carpentier is now regarded as one of the preeminent Belgian Impressionist painters so Raphael Dubois’ training could not be any better. 
Graduating in 1903 having only spent a year at the academy, he was already painting professionally and had quickly gained a strong reputation. He discovered Impressionism in 1905 and abandoned the soft pastel approach of his mentor Carpentier in favor of a brash, vivid palette of primary colors. 
 
The years 1910 to 1925 were his most creative.  His landscapes are full of texture and light and perfectly encapsulate the ideals of Belgian Impressionism. With his choice of colors, Chanterou gives a nod towards the Fauvists practicing their Post-Impressionist style centered in the Belgian province of Brabant.
 
At the end of World War One he moved to Montparnasse in France and then on to Nice where he would stay until 1939. He spent World War Two in Paris finally returning to Belgium in 1945.