19th century french school. Night Seascape arounfd 1870/1880

Théodore Gudin (1802-1880) attributed. Night Seascape 1870/1880

Oil on mahogany panel 37 x 31 cm.
Antique carved frame 48 x 42 cm.

Our painting attributed to Théodore Gudin was made on a mahogany panel from Maison Déforge et Carpentier, whose different stamps are known depending on the period (1830 to 1888). This panel dates from 1869-1880. It is difficult to pinpoint the place where the work was made; it could be Brittany, Normandy, or even Cornwall, since Gudin followed Napoleon III into exile in England in 1870. In any case, it is a very beautiful painting full of finesse and detail, very well highlighted by an entirely carved antique frame.

Théodore Gudin (1802-1880)

Along with Louis-Philippe Crépin, he was one of the first two painters of the Navy. His first paintings, influenced by the Romantic spirit, were immediately noticed. Having become a painter close to power, he was placed on the same level as Vernet and then strangely was gradually forgotten. He was fortunately rediscovered. Having entered the Naval Academy, Théodore Gudin abandoned his studies and left for New York where he met Bonapartists in exile. He joined the American Navy, embarking on the Manchester-Packet, a 250-ton brig, on September 15, 1819. In the spring of 1822, he returned to Paris and wanted to become a painter, like his older brother Louis, who had been a student of Horace Vernet, by joining the studio of Anne-Louis Girodet. He was friends with Eugène Sue, to whom he taught drawing, Sue teaching him horse riding. He made his debut at the Paris Salon of 1822 with five canvases, including Brick in Distress and a View of the Mouth of the Seine. The death of his brother on March 4, 1823, in a shipwreck on the Seine, from which Théodore survived before the eyes of Eugène Sue, affected him deeply. In 1824, he exhibited a Rescue and a View of Fort Chaput near the island of Oléron. At this time, he was already a protégé of the Duke of Orléans, the future king. He had executed a painting representing the Visit by a Corsair to the America, the ship on which the Duke had embarked for the United States in 1796. He was appointed painter of the Royal Navy in 1830, at the court of Louis-Philippe, then of Napoleon III. He toured Italy and Switzerland in 1832, making numerous sketches in his notebooks. He then traveled to Russia where he made sketches of Russian naval maneuvers. He returned to France on La Danaé. Under Louis-Philippe, Théodore Gudin was made a baron. The king commissioned 90 paintings from him for the Versailles Museum to commemorate episodes in French naval history. He was promoted to officer of the Legion of Honor in 1841 and, exhibiting in Berlin in 1845, he received the Cross of Merit. In 1844, he married Louise Margaret Gordon-Hay (1820-1890), daughter of an English general and goddaughter of Louis-Philippe; the couple had three children. He made numerous trips to London; he stayed there from 1821 alongside Eugène Isabey, the two men exhibited there until the 1830s, becoming acquainted with Turner's work. When the 1848 revolution broke out, he divided his time between France and England and maintained good relations with all political powers. However, during the coup d'état of 1851, Gudin sided with the Republicans. A few years later, back in favor with the Bonapartes, Gudin accompanied Emperor Napoleon III to Algeria, and returned to Tangier on La Reine Hortense. He was promoted to Commander of the Legion of Honor in 1857. At the end of 1870, Gudin went into exile in England, after the fall of the Empire.