Charles LAVAL (Paris 1862–1894) Rocks on the Breton Coast, Île de Groix Watercolor with gouache over black pencil lines. Signed and dated “de Groix” in the lower right corner. 14.5 x 28.5 cm Charles Laval was a French painter of the second half of the 19th century, a student of Léon Bonnat, and associated with Synthetism, a Post-Impressionist movement linked to artists such as Paul Gauguin, Louis Anquetin, and Émile Bernard. He was part of the Pont-Aven School, which brought together Post-Impressionist and Synthetist artists who came to paint in this Breton village in Finistère. Charles Laval met and became friends with Paul Gauguin in Pont-Aven and traveled with him to Panama and Martinique. The island of Groix, located off the coast of Lorient, lies within close proximity to Pont-Aven, where Laval created many of his works.