Léon-Fran?ois-Antoine Fleury, The Tomb of Caecilia Metella, c. 1830, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Frank Anderson Trapp, 2004.166.16
An integral part of art education in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, open-air painting was a core practice for emerging artists in Europe. Intrepid artists such as Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, John Constable, Simon Denis, Jules Coignet, and André Giroux—highly skilled at quickly capturing effects of light and atmosphere—made sometimes arduous journeys to paint their landscapes in person at breathtaking sites, ranging from the Baltic coast and Swiss Alps to the ruins of Rome. Drawing on new scholarship, this exhibition of some 100 oil sketches made outdoors across Europe during that time includes several recently discovered works and explores the variety of inventive ways in which enraptured artists recorded their moments in nature.
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
Louis Dupré, French, 1789 – 1837, View of Santa Trinità dei Monti in Rome, c. 1817, oil on paper, mounted on canvas, Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris, Gift of Jacques and Brigitte Gairard
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
Michel Dumas, French, 1812 – 1895, Fountain in the Roman Campagna, c. 1838 – 1840, oil on canvas, mounted on wood panel, Private Collection, London
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
August Kopisch, German, 1799 – 1853, View of Capri, oil on wood panel, Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
Jean-Charles Rémond, French, 1795 – 1875, Eruption of Stromboli, 30 August 1842, 1842, oil on paper, mounted on canvas, Private Collection, London
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
Louis Léopold Robert, French, 1794 – 1835, View of Naples with Vesuvius, 1821, oil on paper, mounted on canvas, Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris, Bequest of Carlos van Hasselt and Andrzej Niew?g?owski
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
Baron Fran?ois Gérard, French, 1770 – 1837, A Study of Waves Breaking against Rocks at Sunset, oil on millboard, Private Collection, London
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
Carl Frederik S?rensen, Danish, 1818 – 1879, Rough Sea beside a Jetty, 1849, oil on canvas, The Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
Johan Carl Neumann, Danish, 1833 – 1891, Landscape with Dunes, oil on paper, mounted on canvas, Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
Richard Parkes Bonington, British, 1802 – 1828, Dezenzano, Lake Garda, 1826, oil on millboard, The Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
Louise-Joséphine Sarazin de Belmont, French, 1790 – 1870, Grotto in a Rocky Landscape, oil on paper, mounted on canvas, Private Collection, London
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
Carl Wilhelm G?tzloff, German, 1799 – 1866, Limestone Rocks, Sorrento, 1858, oil on paper, mounted on cardboard, Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
Achille-Etna Michallon, French, 1796 – 1822, The Oak and the Reed, 1816, oil on canvas, The Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
Janus La Cour, Danish, 1837 – 1909, Olive Trees near Tivoli, 1869, oil on canvas, Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
Johann Jakob Frey, Swiss, 1813 – 1865, Cloud Study (4), oil on paper, mounted on canvas, Private Collection, London
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
Anton Melbye, Danish, 1818 – 1875, Skrim (Kongsberg, Norway), 1846, oil on paper, mounted on cardboard, Private Collection, London
True to Nature
Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870
Frederik Rohde, Danish, 1816 – 1886, Rooftops, oil on canvas, Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris
Organization: The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington; the Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris; and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Hashtag: #PaintingTruetoNature
Passes: Admission is always free, but timed passes are required for entry for the West Building
Other venues: Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris, February 20–May 23, 2021
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, June 22–September 19, 2021
