PIERRE-ATHANASE CHAUVIN | View of the Pines of the Villa Borghese from the Back of the Villa Medicis
Details
Pierre-Athanase Chauvin
PARIS 1774 - 1832 ROME
VIEW OF THE PINES OF THE VILLA BORGHESE FROM THE BACK OF THE VILLA MEDICIS
signed and titled on the reverse: Vue des Pins de la Villa Borghese / prise du derrière la Villa Médicis. / par Chauvin.
oil on paper laid on canvas
20 x 31 cm.; 7 7/8 x 12 1/4 in.
PROVENANCE
From the collection of Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine, Napoléon's First Architect (1762–1853);
Anonymous sale, New York, Sotheby's, 24 January 2008, lot 82, for $145,000;
Where acquired by the present owner.
CATALOGUE NOTE
Pierre-Athanase Chauvin was a pupil of Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he was trained in Paris in the neoclassical style. He was nineteen years old when he first took art in the Salon exhibition in 1793. Although he was born in Paris and trained by a French master, Chauvin moved to Rome in 1801 or 1802 where he was to spend most of his life. In Rome he became one of the stars of the international artistic community, and shared a studio with François-Marius Granet. Through Granet Chauvin was introduced to Pierre-Narcisse Guerin and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, the latter went on to paint portraits of Chauvin and his wife in 1814 (now in the Musée Bonnat, Bayonne). During the 1800s, Chauvin travelled to Florence and Naples, and began to focus on Italian views. He became a member of the Academy of Saint Luke in Rome in 1813 and, on his way back to Paris in 1827, was named a corresponding member of the institute. The present painting reflects Chauvin's controlled use of light and his powerful sense of atmosphere, much influenced by Valenciennes. Chauvin gives us the impression that he has been painting in the open air rather than in a studio. The pines lend a structural element to Chauvin's composition, heightening the recession through space.
PARIS 1774 - 1832 ROME
VIEW OF THE PINES OF THE VILLA BORGHESE FROM THE BACK OF THE VILLA MEDICIS
signed and titled on the reverse: Vue des Pins de la Villa Borghese / prise du derrière la Villa Médicis. / par Chauvin.
oil on paper laid on canvas
20 x 31 cm.; 7 7/8 x 12 1/4 in.
PROVENANCE
From the collection of Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine, Napoléon's First Architect (1762–1853);
Anonymous sale, New York, Sotheby's, 24 January 2008, lot 82, for $145,000;
Where acquired by the present owner.
CATALOGUE NOTE
Pierre-Athanase Chauvin was a pupil of Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he was trained in Paris in the neoclassical style. He was nineteen years old when he first took art in the Salon exhibition in 1793. Although he was born in Paris and trained by a French master, Chauvin moved to Rome in 1801 or 1802 where he was to spend most of his life. In Rome he became one of the stars of the international artistic community, and shared a studio with François-Marius Granet. Through Granet Chauvin was introduced to Pierre-Narcisse Guerin and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, the latter went on to paint portraits of Chauvin and his wife in 1814 (now in the Musée Bonnat, Bayonne). During the 1800s, Chauvin travelled to Florence and Naples, and began to focus on Italian views. He became a member of the Academy of Saint Luke in Rome in 1813 and, on his way back to Paris in 1827, was named a corresponding member of the institute. The present painting reflects Chauvin's controlled use of light and his powerful sense of atmosphere, much influenced by Valenciennes. Chauvin gives us the impression that he has been painting in the open air rather than in a studio. The pines lend a structural element to Chauvin's composition, heightening the recession through space.