Description
This view of a rocky landscape along the Mediterranean coast of southern France reflects the naturalist ambition of capturing exact details and atmospheric effects observed directly from life. Clear, intense light floods over the stony cliffs and the sparse greenery baked in the heat of sun. The artist, l Guigou, studied art in Marseilles and devoted most of his career to painting views of his native Provence. In 1855 he began traveling back and forth between Marseilles and Paris, where he became familiar with the paintings of Gustave Courbet and died of a stroke at age 37.
Provenance
(Galerie Alfred Daber, Paris) (1939); (Arthur Tooth & Sons, London) (?); Private collection, New York, consigned to Sotheby’s (Until 1979); (Sale, Sotheby's, New York, May 4, 1979, lot 207 (1979); Noah L. [1918-1980] and Muriel S. Butkin [1915-2008], Cleveland, OH, bequeathed to the Cleveland Museum of Art as a result of disclaimer by Muriel S. Butkin (Probably 1979-1980); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1980-)
Accession Number
1980.265
Medium
oil on wood panel
Dimensions
Unframed: 38.6 x 58.4 cm (15 3/16 x 23 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Bequest of Noah L. Butkin
Tags
Painting Impressionist & Modern (1851–1900) Oil Painting Panel Painting French
Background & Context
Background Story
Paul Guigou (1834-1871) was a French painter known for the luminous, precisely observed landscape paintings of Provence that make him one of the most accomplished landscape painters of the French tradition. Landscape at Saint-Andre, Near Marseilles from c. 1865 depicts the landscape near Marseilles in the luminous, precisely observed manner that distinguishes Guigou's best work from the more general landscape painting of his contemporaries. Guigou was known for his luminous, precisely observed landscapes of Provence that capture the unique quality of Mediterranean light, and the c. 1865 painting shows the Provencal landscape at its most luminous.
Cultural Impact
Landscape at Saint-Andre, Near Marseilles is important in the history of French landscape painting because it demonstrates the luminous, precisely observed manner that Guigou brought to Provencal subjects as one of the most accomplished landscape painters of the French tradition. Guigou's luminous, precisely observed landscapes of Provence—capturing the unique quality of Mediterranean light that is his most distinctive contribution—represent one of the most accomplished traditions in French landscape painting, and the c. 1865 painting shows this tradition at its most luminous.
Why It Matters
Landscape at Saint-Andre, Near Marseilles is Guigou's luminous Provencal landscape: the landscape near Marseilles rendered in the precisely observed manner of one of the most accomplished landscape painters of Provence. The c. 1865 painting captures the unique quality of Mediterranean light that makes Provencal landscape painting distinctive.
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