François-Marius Granet, 'Tivoli Roofs', about 1810
About the work
Overview
Originally from Aix-en-Provence, François-Marius Granet studied with both Jean-Antoine Constantin and Jacques-Louis David. In 1802 he travelled to Rome with Comte Auguste de Forbin (1777 -1841) (later curator of the Louvre) for a brief visit; he returned soon after for a stay of 21 years, only returning to France in 1824. While in Rome he was taught by Simon Denis. Granet was particularly drawn to the textures, colours and forms of the city’s architecture, and indeed earned money selling drawings of ancient monuments.
Here he has depicted a tightly packed cluster of houses, roofs and arches. Using dilute paint with a degree of transparency, he has created a homogenous surface of warm browns and greys, punctuated with darker windows and doors. The expressive brushstrokes in the thin paint lend a sense of wear and decay to the buildings. By contrast, the luminous sky is painted smoothly.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Tivoli Roofs
- Artist
- François-Marius Granet
- Artist dates
- 1775 - 1849
- Date made
- about 1810
- Medium and support
- oil on paper, mounted on canvas
- Dimensions
- 26 × 24 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by the Lishawa family, 2018
- Inventory number
- NG6672
- Location
- Room 39
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 18th-century French Frame
Provenance
Additional information
This painting is included in a list of works with incomplete provenance from 1933–1945; for more information see Whereabouts of paintings 1933–1945.
Text extracted from the National Gallery’s Annual Report, ‘The National Gallery: Review of the Year, April 2018 – March 2019’.
Bibliography
-
2019National Gallery, The National Gallery: Review of the Year, April 2018 - March 2019, London 2019
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.
Images
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