Fishermen towing a boat on the river Tiber at sunset

Bidauld was born the son of a clockmaker and goldsmith in the town of Carpentras in the Midi. After studying at the Ecole-des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, he moved to Paris in 1783 where he was soon taken up by the art dealer Dulac. At this time Bidauld was strongly influenced by Joseph Vernet whom he met in Paris and with whom he painted in the forest of Fontainebleau during the summer. In 1785 he travelled to Rome where he spent the next five years molding a style which he was never to abandon for the rest of his career. He returned to Paris in 1791 where he was to exhibit at the Salon on a regular and successful basis for the rest of his career. In 1817 he returned to Italy and in 1823 became the first landscape painter to be elected to the Institut.

Back in Paris, Bidauld continued to paint picturesque landscapes, often views of Italy, as exemplified by the present picture which may be identifiable as 'Le Tibre' sold 31 January 1949 (14,000 Fr.). (See E. Bénézit, Dictionnaire des Peintures, 1911, 3rd edn. 1976, II, p. 23).