Charles CLAIR (1860-1930): Shepherd and his sheep near the shore. Oil on canvas. Signed lower left. 65 x 50 cm Charles Clair was a French painter and engraver who trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Nevers and then at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The son of a farmer, he specialised in rural and animal scenes, particularly sheep, which he depicted in oil on canvas or panel with a naturalist style and a marked use of impasto. He was a member of the Salon des Artistes Français from 1913 and received an honourable mention that year. His works capture pastoral life with soft light and precise detail. 46