Artwork Page for Landscape Near Paris

Details / Information for Landscape Near Paris

Landscape Near Paris

c. 1840

attributed to Georges Michel

(French, 1763–1843)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
oil on fabric
Measurements
Framed: 105.6 x 146.4 x 9.6 cm (41 9/16 x 57 5/8 x 3 3/4 in.); Unframed: 88.8 x 129.5 cm (34 15/16 x 51 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin 1975.78
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

The location of this scene, probably near Paris, has not been identified with certainty. Unlike most painters of this time, Michel never traveled to Italy and focused only on depicting locations in France. Michel was always interested in Dutch art, however, and was nicknamed the "French Ruisdael"-a reference to the 17th-century Dutch landscape painter Jacob van Ruisdael (1628-1682). After about 1808, Michel explored personal interpretations of landscape, focusing on light, sky, and space. The brooding, vaguely threatening atmosphere in this painting embodies the Romantic notion that human beings are insignificant relative to the larger forces of nature.
A horizontally oriented oil painting depicts a vast landscape under a heavy sky thick with gray clouds. A dark, steep hillside on the right slopes toward a shadowy plain on the left. In the golden-brown foreground, a winding dirt path cuts through the rugged terrain. Small figures appear as dark shapes: one stands with a staff, while further back, a pop of red identifies a person riding a white animal.

Landscape Near Paris

c. 1840

Georges Michel

(French, 1763–1843)
France, 19th century

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