Not all plein-air painting is sketchlike in appearance. This example may have benefited from the use of a camera obscura, an optical device that enabled the artist to draw myriad fine details before applying paint. The result is a marvelously deft tonal study of contre-jour (the reflection of full sunlight) that is highly atmospheric for so small a picture. Bidauld was one of a handful of French artists to visit Subiaco in the 1780s.
Explore the landscapes of Joseph Pierre Xavier Bidauld – a 18th/19th-century French painter known for his Italianate scenes & salon acclaim. Discover his art!