Jean Joseph Xavier Bidauld, 'A View of Tivoli Cascade', 1788
About the work
Overview
Jean Joseph Xavier Bidauld was a member of the early generation of neo-classical landscapists. He was taught by Claude-Joseph Vernet, who had introduced oil sketching to the influential artist and teacher Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes. Bidauld was in Italy from 1785 to 1790, where he produced studies which are characteristically detailed and highly finished. This view, probably completed in the studio, is no exception.
Tivoli, lying to the north-east of Rome and famous for its waterfalls, was a favourite destination for painters. In Bidauld’s study the whole of the left side is in deep shadow, the soft brushstrokes in dark greens, conveying a sense of damp mossy vegetation. On the right, in full sun, the foliage is meticulously delineated and the fall of sunlight on the leaves at the right and at the top is captured in minute touches of paint. The thunderous descent of the water is conveyed with fluid strokes of white.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- A View of Tivoli Cascade
- Artist
- Jean Joseph Xavier Bidauld
- Artist dates
- 1758 - 1846
- Date made
- 1788
- Medium and support
- oil on paper, mounted on canvas
- Dimensions
- 40.9 × 31.2 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by the Lishawa family, 2018
- Inventory number
- NG6678
- Location
- Room 39
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 19th-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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