Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld Carpentras 1758 - 1846 Montmorency

Bidauld, like other French landscape painters of his generation, travelled to Italy in 1785 to complete his artistic training in the Italian countryside.  His Italian sojourn, which lasted five years, proved to be the defining experience of his career and the many plein air sketches and paintings he produced while there provided inspiration throughout the rest of his artistic career. Though he returned to Italy only once after his initial visit, he drew heavily upon his fond memories of the landscape and continued to paint Italian subjects throughout his career.

A very similar picture by Bidauld of comparable measurements was sold at Sotheby's, New York, January 27, 2006, lot 337 for $240,000.