Circle of Jean Victor Bertin (1767-1842) - Neoclassical landscape

Circle of Jean Victor Bertin (1767-1842)

Neoclassical Landscape

Oil on canvas
32.5 x 40.5 cm without frame
56 x 64 cm with frame

This rural scene depicts an idealized architectural landscape, typical of the first half of the 19th century. In a rigorously constructed composition, the artist deploys a vocabulary inherited from the neoclassical landscape: a central building firmly established in space, soft relief lines, balanced tree masses, and a vast, luminous sky with subtly modulated hues.

The presence of human and animal figures discreetly enlivens the foreground, reinforcing the atmosphere of tranquility characteristic of this type of scene. The brushstrokes are fine, the drawing precise, and the lighting effects reflect a strong mastery of outdoor painting, likely informed by the study of the Italian landscape.

In its style and treatment, this work can be compared to the circle of Jean-Victor Bertin (1767-1842), a great neo-classical landscape painter, notably a teacher of Achille-Etna Michallon (1796-1822). It is part of the tradition of French artists of the 1820s–1830s, who were sensitive to the formal balance and serenity of countryside scenes.