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Lot Essay
This atmospheric and beautifully observed sketch relates to the work on canvas, of almost identical dimensions, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Bertin trained initially under the history painter Gabriel-François Doyen, but by 1788 he had become a pupil of Pierre-Henri Valenciennes, who encouraged him to paint idealised Italianate landscapes in the tradition of Poussin. In 1806 he travelled to Italy where he remained for two years. It was during this period that he developed a greater interest in topographical detail and the effects of atmosphere and light. From 1801 Bertin repeatedly proposed to the Académie the creation of a Prix de Rome in the category of historical landscape, efforts which did not come to fruition until 1817 when the first competition was won by his pupil, Achille-Etna Michallon.
Although he flourished both during the Empire and the Restoration, it is difficult to construct a chronology for Bertin's painting as there are no precise documents for his early work. While his early paintings consistently drew on an idealized vision of landscape for inspiration, he eventually turned to painting more from nature. Bertin exhibited regularly at the Salon from 1793, receiving awards in 1799 and 1808 before being decorated with the Légion d'Honneur in 1822; he died shortly after in Paris in 1824.
Bertin trained initially under the history painter Gabriel-François Doyen, but by 1788 he had become a pupil of Pierre-Henri Valenciennes, who encouraged him to paint idealised Italianate landscapes in the tradition of Poussin. In 1806 he travelled to Italy where he remained for two years. It was during this period that he developed a greater interest in topographical detail and the effects of atmosphere and light. From 1801 Bertin repeatedly proposed to the Académie the creation of a Prix de Rome in the category of historical landscape, efforts which did not come to fruition until 1817 when the first competition was won by his pupil, Achille-Etna Michallon.
Although he flourished both during the Empire and the Restoration, it is difficult to construct a chronology for Bertin's painting as there are no precise documents for his early work. While his early paintings consistently drew on an idealized vision of landscape for inspiration, he eventually turned to painting more from nature. Bertin exhibited regularly at the Salon from 1793, receiving awards in 1799 and 1808 before being decorated with the Légion d'Honneur in 1822; he died shortly after in Paris in 1824.