Marine Ship Painting - L'avenir. Oil on Cloth, Early 20th Century

This is a very interesting early 20th Century marine painting. It features the four-masted steel barque L'Avenir, which was built in 1908 in Geestemünde, Germany, and launched in Antwerpe Belgium that year as a sail training ship. The ship is seen here in full sail under the Belgian tricolour flag. It maybe that this was painted on board ship, with whatever materials were available, because the cloth used is not a normal artist canvas, it is coarse, perhaps a piece of sail canvas, weathered and salt stained (see photos). Well painted. Signed A Berts(?) Professionally cleaned. The life of L'Avenir is well documented, here are a few excerpts: Through the 1st world war and afterwards L'Avenir worked many long distance journeys as both a training and cargo ship, including: 1915 Sailed from L'Havre to New York in 45 days. 1917 Sailed from New York to Melbourne with a cargo of kerosene in cases. 1919 Sailed from San Francisco to Ipswich with 48 apprentices. 1926 Sailed from Geelong Australia to Lizard in 110 days with a cargo of wheat. This was the fastest passage for the 1926 season. In 1937 the ship was sold to Hamburg Amerika Linie for £ 10,000. and was renamed Admiral Karpfanger. In 1938 she sailed from Port Germain, Australia, for Hamburg with a cargo of 3500 tons of wheat. She radioed her position on March 1 as "all well" but sadly was not heard of again. Searches were made and eventually wreckage of the ship was discovered on the shore at Windbound Bay, near Cape Horn.