'The Tennis Player' by Louis Van de Spiegele (circa 1930s)

'The Tennis Player', oil on canvas, by artist Louis Van de Spiegele (circa 1930s). This delightful painting depicts a tennis competitor taking advantage of the time during a between-game break to contemplate a change in strategy to make his comeback. He is wearing traditional whites with long trousers. By the early 1930s, short-sleeved shirts were becoming acceptable and simultaneously an even more daring development occurred. In 1933 Bunny Austin was the first male tennis player to enter a major public competition wearing not trousers, but shorts. His lead was soon followed by others. For some years shorts and long trousers co-existed on the tennis courts, but by the late 1930s shorts were the favoured option. The last man to win Wimbledon wearing long trousers was in 1946. This painting is a real find for lovers of the game and is a large, signed work newly framed in a tray. It is in fair condition commensurate with age having recently undergone a surface cleaning and preservation. Please enjoy the many photos accompanying this listing. Upon request a video may be provided.

About the Artist: Louis Van de Spiegele (1912-1971). Belgian painter, draftsman and engraver, he attended the Academy of Mons at Duriau. At the beginning of his career, his works were purely figurative but with time, evolved into surrealism. Said about him in the press regarding his surrealist work: 'There are landscapes in settings with ruins or ancient cities, with a clear influence of surrealist, Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978). During World War II, the artist was locked up in a German concentration camp. He was co-founder of the Rupture Group (1935), of the Surrealist Group of Hainaut (1938) and of the Haute Nuit Group (1947). His body of work remains very limited, thus very difficult to acquire. Van de Spiegele's artworks are held in the Museums of Mons and Brussels in Belgium as well as international private collections.

Dimensions with Frame:

H 82 cm / 32.3"

W 72 cm / 28.3"

Dimensions without Frame:

H 80 cm / 31.5"

W 70 cm / 27.6"