Louis-nicolas Cabat (1802-1868) Tuscan Landscape, Watercolor, Signed And Dated 1837

Louis-Nicolas CABAT
Paris 1802 - 1893 Paris

Tuscan Landscape, Civita la Vigna
Watercolour on pape
r Signed and dated "L Cabat 1837" and located "Civita La Vigna"
23 x 32.5 cm sheet
37.5 x 46 cm
frame Louis XVI period gilded wood frame (keyed mounting).

A pupil of Camille Flers (1802–1868), Cabat was initially attracted by the innovative approach of the realistic landscape, which he experimented with in the Paris region from 1829-1830. In 1834, following his meeting with Father Lacordaire (1802–1861), Cabat converted to Catholicism. This break with his atheist education led him to consider the world around him differently and coincided with his departure for Italy in 1836. The journey and the discovery of the vast expanses of the Roman countryside completely changed his approach to the landscape. He abandoned an anecdotal vision for a more noble conception of nature. He became one of the supporters of the idealist trend that then brought together Caruelle d'Aligny, Édouard Bertin, the Benouville brothers and the Flandrin brothers among others. Our sheet is characteristic of his Italian period. The two characters on the left are dominated by the immensity of the landscape and almost crushed by the bubbling clouds, conveying an almost divine, even mystical impression.