Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Claude Lorrain
17th century etching black and white landscape scene forest trees figures

1633

About the Item

"Scene de Brigands" is an etching by Claude Gellee (Le Lorrain). This etching is in the collections of the Louvre and the Art Institute of Chicago. Publisher: Mannocci #11. 5" x 7 3/4" art 19 1/4" x 22" frame Biography Claude Lorrain was born in c. 1604 into poverty in the town of Chamagne, Vosges in Lorraine—then the Duchy of Lorraine, an independent state until 1766 in northeastern France. He was one of five children. His name was Claude Gellée, however, he is known by the province in which he was born. He is often simply called Claude. Orphaned by the age of twelve, he went to live in Freiburg with an elder brother, Jean Gellée, a woodcarver. Claude went to Rome and then Naples from 1619 to 1621, where he apprenticed under Goffredo (Gottfried) Wals. He returned to Rome in April of 1625 and was apprenticed to Augustin Tassi. Claude toured in Italy, France, and Germany, including his native Lorraine. Claude Deruet, painter to the Duke of Lorraine, kept him as an assistant for a year. He painted architectural subjects in Nancy at the Carmelite church. In 1627, Claude returned to Rome. Two landscapes commissioned by Cardinal Bentivoglio earned him the patronage of Pope Urban VIII. From about 1627, he rapidly achieved fame as a painter of landscapes and seascapes. Apparently, he befriended his fellow Frenchman, Nicolas Poussin; together they would travel the Roman Campagna, sketching landscapes. Although both artists have been called landscape painters, they were history painters. In Poussin’s work, landscape is a backdrop for the figures that dominate the composition. Claude’s work is more landscape dominant, yet figures are always present. To avoid the repetition of subjects and to combat copiers of his work, Claude made drawings of the pictures he sent to all his patrons. On the back of each drawing, he wrote the name of the purchaser. Called the Liber Veritatis (Book of Truth), the volume became a valuable study guide for Claude’s work. Claude Lorrain died in Rome in November of 1682, leaving his wealth to his only surviving relatives, a nephew and an adopted daughter (possibly his niece). Legacy Landscape was not considered a serious subject for painting during Claude’s time. Despite his mastery of landscape and his legacy as one of the most accomplished landscape painters in Western art history, Claude was known during his time as a history painter, representing mythical and religious subjects. In seventeenth-century Europe, landscape, like still life and genre painting, reflected an aesthetic viewpoint that lacked moral seriousness. In the matter of the importance of landscape, Claude was prescient. He did not depict the uninhabited panoramas that were esteemed in later centuries, rather his works featured pastoral worlds populated by classical ruins or seascapes. To satisfy his patrons, his pictures include gods, heroes, and saints, even though his sketchbooks contain many drawings of the natural world. Joachim van Sandrart, a German artist and one of Claude’s biographers, described the artist’s working methods for capturing the essence of nature. He wrote that Claude “... studied his art with great seriousness and application; he tried by every means to penetrate nature, lying in the fields before the break of day and until night in order to learn to represent very exactly the red morning sky, sunrise and sunset and the evening hours. When he had well contemplated one or the other in the fields he immediately prepared his colours accordingly, returned home and applied them to the work he had in mind with much greater naturalness than anyone had ever done.” John Constable described Claude Lorrain as "the most perfect landscape painter the world ever saw", and declared that in Claude’s landscape "all is lovely - all amiable - all is amenity and repose; the calm sunshine of the heart"
  • Creator:
    Claude Lorrain (1604 - 1682, French)
  • Creation Year:
    1633
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 19.25 in (48.9 cm)Width: 22 in (55.88 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
    Mid-17th Century
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 10630g1stDibs: LU605313405762

More From This Seller

View All
17th century etching black and white figurative landscape trees buildings
By Jan Frans van Bloemen (Orizzonte)
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Conversation Outside Castle" is an original etching by Jan Frans van Bloemen. It depicts a number of figures just outside the majestic walls of a castle. These groups of figures are engaged in their own conversations. 9" x 6 3/4" art 21 5/8" x 19 3/8" frame Jan Frans van Bloemen (baptized 12 May 1662 - buried 13 June 1749) was a Flemish landscape painter mainly active in Rome. Here he was able to establish himself as the leading painter of views (vedute) of the Roman countryside depicted in the aesthetic of the classical landscape tradition. Van Bloemen predominantly painted classical landscapes, taking his inspiration from the Roman Campagna. His landscapes, with their recession through a series of planes, soft, warm lightning and classical and religious subject matter, drew on the examples of artists such as Claude Lorrain and Gaspard Dughet. His paintings are exquisitely imbued with that "difficult-to-define pastoral ambience" which helped to make him such a great painter in the eyes of his contemporaries. The technique and subjects of the work of Jan Frans van Bloemen are also related to painters such as Jan Asselijn...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Landscape Prints

Materials

Etching

17th century etching black and white figurative landscape trees statues scene
By Jan Frans van Bloemen (Orizzonte)
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Mother & Child Near Statues" is an original etching by Jan Frans van Bloemen. It depicts two figures, a mother and child pair, next two two classical statues. There are other figures in this park-like environment. 9 1/4" x 6 3/4" art 21 5/8" x 19 3/8" frame Jan Frans van Bloemen (baptized 12 May 1662 - buried 13 June 1749) was a Flemish landscape painter mainly active in Rome. Here he was able to establish himself as the leading painter of views (vedute) of the Roman countryside depicted in the aesthetic of the classical landscape tradition. Van Bloemen predominantly painted classical landscapes, taking his inspiration from the Roman Campagna. His landscapes, with their recession through a series of planes, soft, warm lightning and classical and religious subject matter, drew on the examples of artists such as Claude Lorrain and Gaspard Dughet. His paintings are exquisitely imbued with that "difficult-to-define pastoral ambience" which helped to make him such a great painter in the eyes of his contemporaries. The technique and subjects of the work of Jan Frans van Bloemen are also related to painters such as Jan Asselijn...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Landscape Prints

Materials

Etching

17th century etching black and white landscape forest trees satyr goats signed
By Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Mythological Scene--Satyr & Goat Herder" is an original etching signed by Italian artist Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione. It depicts a satyr lounging on the left and an approaching g...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Landscape Prints

Materials

Etching

17th century etching black and white figurative landscape obelisk buildings
By Jan Frans van Bloemen (Orizzonte)
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Figures at the Obelisk" is an original etching by Jan Frans van Bloemen. It depicts two people conversing in front of a monument. Behind them, an expansive landscape sprawls. 9 1/4" x 6 3/4" art 21 3/4" x 19 3/8" frame Jan Frans van Bloemen (baptized 12 May 1662 - buried 13 June 1749) was a Flemish landscape painter mainly active in Rome. Here he was able to establish himself as the leading painter of views (vedute) of the Roman countryside depicted in the aesthetic of the classical landscape tradition. Van Bloemen predominantly painted classical landscapes, taking his inspiration from the Roman Campagna. His landscapes, with their recession through a series of planes, soft, warm lightning and classical and religious subject matter, drew on the examples of artists such as Claude Lorrain and Gaspard Dughet. His paintings are exquisitely imbued with that "difficult-to-define pastoral ambience" which helped to make him such a great painter in the eyes of his contemporaries. The technique and subjects of the work of Jan Frans van Bloemen are also related to painters such as Jan Asselijn, Thomas Wyck...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Landscape Prints

Materials

Etching

17th century etching black and white figurative landscape cityscape buildings
By Jan Frans van Bloemen (Orizzonte)
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Figures Outside the Monastery" is an original etching by Jan Frans van Bloemen. It depicts people on the path to a church. 7" x 10 1/4" art 19 1/4" x 22 5/8" frame Jan Frans van Bloemen (baptized 12 May 1662 - buried 13 June 1749) was a Flemish landscape painter mainly active in Rome. Here he was able to establish himself as the leading painter of views (vedute) of the Roman countryside depicted in the aesthetic of the classical landscape tradition. Van Bloemen predominantly painted classical landscapes, taking his inspiration from the Roman Campagna. His landscapes, with their recession through a series of planes, soft, warm lightning and classical and religious subject matter, drew on the examples of artists such as Claude Lorrain and Gaspard Dughet. His paintings are exquisitely imbued with that "difficult-to-define pastoral ambience" which helped to make him such a great painter in the eyes of his contemporaries. The technique and subjects of the work of Jan Frans van Bloemen are also related to painters such as Jan Asselijn, Thomas Wyck...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Landscape Prints

Materials

Etching

"Country Inn by the Pond, " Etching by John Thomas Smith
By John Thomas Smith
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Country Inn by the Pond" is an original etching by John Thomas Smith. It depicts a cozy building surrounded by trees and vegetation and next to a pond. 3" x 5 1/4" art 16" x 18 1/...
Category

1790s Old Masters Landscape Prints

Materials

Etching

You May Also Like

Piranesi Etching of Ancient Roman Architectural Objects, "A sua Eccellenza"
By Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Located in Alamo, CA
"A sua Eccellenza il Signor Henry Hope Cav. Scozzese Amatore delle Belle Arti from "Vasi, Candelabri, Cippi, Sarcofagi, Tripodi, Lucerne, Ed Ornamenti Antichi", (Vases, candelabra, grave stones, sarcophagi, tripods, lamps, and ancient ornaments) is an etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, published in 1778. It depicts stone caryatids...
Category

1770s Old Masters Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Ancient Roman Temple Architecture: An 18th Century Framed Etching by Piranesi
By Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an 18th century etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi entitled "Veduta del Tempio detto della Tosse su la Via Tiburtina, un miglio vicino a Tivoli" (View of the so-called Tem...
Category

1760s Old Masters Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Le Tour de Clermont en Dauphine apartenant a Monsieur de Tonnerre
By Israel Silvestre
Located in Middletown, NY
Etching and engraving on handmade cream laid paper, 3 7/8 x 6 7/8 inches (97 x 173 mm), full margins. In good condition, consistent with age. Several small notations in pencil in t...
Category

18th Century Old Masters Landscape Prints

Materials

Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Engraving, Etching

The Windmill by François Vivares, after Rembrandt
By Rembrandt van Rijn
Located in Middletown, NY
Engraving on cream laid paper, 8 x 5 7/8 inches (202 x 149 mm), trimmed at the platemark. Adhered at each corner to a small sheet of archival laid paper. Horizontal edge loss at the ...
Category

Mid-18th Century Old Masters Landscape Prints

Materials

Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Etching

Frontispiece with stepped fountain.
By Karel Dujardin
Located in Middletown, NY
Dujardin, Karel. Frontispiece with stepped fountain; a stone wall with water spout pouring water into a rectilinear basin, from which a second spout pour...
Category

Mid-17th Century Old Masters Landscape Prints

Materials

Handmade Paper, Etching, Laid Paper

Fountains of Rome
By Giovan Battista Falda
Located in Middletown, NY
A charming scene with romping dogs and spectators watching the cascading water play a trick on an unsuspecting man who is sprayed as he descends the steps, ...
Category

Early 17th Century Old Masters Landscape Prints

Materials

Laid Paper, Engraving, Etching

Recently Viewed

View All