Achille-Etna Michallon, 'A Tree', about 1816
On loan: Gere Collection Paintings to the Ashmolean (2024 - 2026), The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford, UK About the work
Overview
In his 'Eléments de perspective' of 1800, Michallon's teacher Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes advised his students to make oil sketches of beautiful trees.
In this sketch Michallon has depicted an ancient tree trunk. The bark is composed of countless quick strokes of colour that suggest its rough texture, while its gnarled branches twist and curl dramatically.
On the reverse of the sheet is a painting of a farmhouse set against a row of trees with a cloud-filled sky above.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- A Tree
- Artist
- Achille-Etna Michallon
- Artist dates
- 1796 - 1822
- Date made
- about 1816
- Medium and support
- Oil on paper
- Dimensions
- 30.5 × 24 cm
- Inscription summary
- Inscribed
- Acquisition credit
- The Gere Collection, on long-term loan to the National Gallery
- Inventory number
- L856
- Location
- On loan: Gere Collection Paintings to the Ashmolean (2024 - 2026), The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford, UK
- Image copyright
- The Gere Collection, on long-term loan to the National Gallery, © Private collection 2000. Used by permission
- Collection
- Main Collection
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
