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Lot Essay
Bertin received his artistic training first in the studio of Doyen then of 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 pictures for the Trianon and Fontainebleau and in 1822 he was created chevalier de la légion d'honneur. (Indeed the state often bought his works at the Salons for French provincial museums.)
The present picture was dated in the Hazlitt exhibition catalogue 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 reflecting the influence of his master Valenciennes, in its use of light and his treatment of architecture, this picture clearly foreshadows the work of Bertin's best-known pupil, Jean-Baptiste Corot.
The present picture was dated in the Hazlitt exhibition catalogue 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 reflecting the influence of his master Valenciennes, in its use of light and his treatment of architecture, this picture clearly foreshadows the work of Bertin's best-known pupil, Jean-Baptiste Corot.