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Lot Essay
Bertin received his artistic training first in the studio of Gabriel-François Doyen and then that of Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes. It is to Valenciennes that Bertin's style remained closest; until the age of forty he was to present himself at the Salon as 'élève de Valenciennes'. Between 1811 and 1817, the French state commissioned him to execute paintings for Trianon and Fontainbleau, and in 1822 he was made chevalier de la légion d'honneur. Indeed the state often bought his works at the Salons for French provincial museums.
The present work is dated in the Hazlitt exhibition by Suzanne Gutwirth to between 1804 and 1808, a period when Bertin painted many views of the Italian countryside, although there is no documentation to prove that he went to Italy at this time.
As much as it reflects the influence of his master Valenciennes, particularly in its use of light and his treatment of architecture, this painting clearly foreshadows the work of Bertin's best-known pupil, Jean-Baptiste Corot.
The present work is dated in the Hazlitt exhibition by Suzanne Gutwirth to between 1804 and 1808, a period when Bertin painted many views of the Italian countryside, although there is no documentation to prove that he went to Italy at this time.
As much as it reflects the influence of his master Valenciennes, particularly in its use of light and his treatment of architecture, this painting clearly foreshadows the work of Bertin's best-known pupil, Jean-Baptiste Corot.