Subiaco
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.
Artwork Details
- Title: Subiaco
- Artist: Joseph Bidauld (French, Carpentras 1758–1846 Montmorency)
- Date: ca. 1786–89
- Medium: Oil on paper, laid down on canvas
- Dimensions: 6 3/4 x 10 in. (17.1 x 25.4 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: The Whitney Collection, Gift of Wheelock Whitney III, and Purchase, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. McVeigh, by exchange, 2003
- Object Number: 2003.42.27
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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