Maurice BARRAUD (1889–1954) (Geneva School), ‘Woman with a parasol under a willow tree, by the water’ (c. 1930), oil on canvas, signed top left. On the reverse, an old label numbered “21707”. H. 52 x 38 cm Private collection, Lutry; subsequently passed down through inheritance. The label “21707” is in fact the control number 21707 / archive number 57536; this work was submitted in 1986 by the art market to SIK-ISEA for inclusion in its inventory. By way of comparison, see another *Woman with a Parasol*, 81.5 × 60 cm, sold for CHF 15,508 at Beurret & Bailly on 21 March 2018, lot 142. It features the same white parasol with pinkish hues, the same luminous blues and a similar female figure, this time seated in a boat rather than depicted standing. Good condition Portraits of women, beach and balcony scenes, nudes and sun-drenched southern landscapes: the motifs of Maurice Barraud, a Geneva-based painter, reveal not only his favourite themes but also his affiliation with classical modern art, in which subjects linked to everyday life and plein air painting were commonplace. His favourite subject was women, whom he depicted in various situations. The typology is always the same: an oval face, a long, narrow nose, a luminous complexion, voluptuous yet simple forms, and a restrained colour palette, full of softness.  The composition of this woman with a parasol is based on a structure in which the figures do not dominate the landscape but blend into it. The figure is thus a coloured element in the same way as the water, the foliage and the light. This way of balancing human presence and natural space gives the scene its intimate character. In places, the paint is thinned to the point where the canvas weave becomes visible; elsewhere, a few dark strokes are enough to define a garment. The figure seems to take shape and then dissolve into the light in turn. This approach has a precedent in *Woman under a Parasol*, c. 1928, held at the Kunsthaus Zürich, and, above all, a particularly compelling parallel in *Nude in the Garden*, painted in 1932 and held at the Centre Pompidou.