Emile Claus Rainy Flemish Market Postcard

Rain has soaked the cobblestones, but the crowd hasn't thinned — umbrellas crowd together over fruit stalls piled with oranges, a boy holds out a tray of wares toward passers-by, and a grand columned civic building rises through the mist behind the stalls. This is Emile Claus before the sunlit river scenes he's best known for, still working in the darker, crowded realism of his early academic years.

A good match for anyone building a collection around street life, market scenes, or the history of Belgian painting.