Landscape with Pond, c. 1896, ?mile Schuffenecker, French, Fresne-Saint-Mam?s, Franche-Comt? 1851¡VParis 1934, 11 1/8 x 18 in. (28.26 x 45.72 cm) (sight)18 5/8 x 25 1/4 in. (47.31 x 64.14 cm) (outer frame), Pastel on paper, France, 19th century, Claude-?mile Schuffenecker was a skilled post-impressionist artist, but his achievements have long been overshadowed by suspicions that he had surreptitiously finished canvases left incomplete by Vincent van Gogh and Paul C?zanne or made outright forgeries. He was deeply involved with the art world of his time, notably as a close associate of both Paul Gauguin and Odilon Redon and a major collector. This pastel reveals Schuffenecker's adroit and lively draftsmanship as well as his ability to create a strong sense of humid, light suffused atmosphere. Moreover, it provides evidence of his abiding interest in Van Gogh's work, both in the bold strokes and in the balance between sinuous flow and staccato rhythm in the undulations of the tree limbs.