French school; Last third of the 18th century

French school; Last third of the 18th century.
"Landscapes".
Oil on canvas.
They have framing labels on the back.
Measurements: 58,5 x 98 cm (x2); 69 x 112 cm (frame, x2).
In both images, the painter offers us a rural landscape, which is largely idealised. Both show the artist's interest in capturing the waters of a calm lake or sea, which becomes the main feature of both landscapes. The sky is strongly illuminated by a bright, golden light that brings a great warmth to the works. In fact, the artist's use of light here conveys a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere that invites the viewer to meditate and contemplate himself in the landscape. The splashes of colour in the grass, the leaf-covered branches of the trees, and the radiant light and the cloudless tone of the sky invite us to think of a hot summer's day. The artist has created in each work a composition of great balance and classicism, and integrates some pictorial contributions of a personal nature, such as the interest in capturing the light, the atmosphere, and the detail that is blurred in some cases. Both canvases show the presence of human figures, although it is true that in one of them there are more of them, both in number and in prominence. Examples of this are the rowers in a boat and the two figures on the left-hand side of the composition, one of the figures standing out for his striking red coat. In the other image, however, there are only two figures who are barely visible due to their small size. This characteristic indicates the great importance of capturing the landscape in relation to the representation of the human figure.

The aesthetics of the works show a certain inspiration from the work of Joseph Vernet, who must have begun his training with his father, the painter Antoine Vernet, and later became an apprentice in Philippe Sauvan's studio, where he devoted himself mainly to religious painting. He later became a pupil of Jacques Vialia, in whose studio in Aix-en-Provence he awoke his interest in landscapes, a genre to which he devoted his work from that time onwards. It was around this time that he produced his first works as an independent painter. Vernet completed his artistic training in Italy, making drawings of ancient art, and in fact he remained there for twenty years. The sight of the sea in Marseilles and his trip to Civitavecchia awakened his passion for marine themes, leading him to join the workshop of the marine painter Bernardino Fergioni. From then on he developed a language particularly sensitive to atmospheric effects, thanks to his close observation of nature, characterised by the perfect integration of the human figure in the landscape. He is now represented in museums all over the world, including the Hermitage in St Petersburg, the Louvre and the National Gallery in London.