Six centuries of artistic creation
1728-1808 França
Jean-Baptiste Pillement belongs to a generation of artists who felt a growing interest in the direct observation of nature. A tireless traveller, he drew and recorded the places he visited. Although his landscapes depart from sight-drawn reality, the final version was made in the studio, combining reality and imagination. The observation and detailed study of figures and costumes led him to compose typical groups as well, which, with slight variants, he placed in his landscapes. In this painting the scenographic construction of the landscape combines with a treatment of light that reveals a desire to capture the atmospheric snapshot of a specific moment in the day, heralding already naturalistic values. The painting belongs to the collection of the Count of Burnay, and was on display in his palace until 1934, when it was sold at an auction.
| Oil on canvas, 155 x 200 cm (oval)
| VISEU. Grão Vasco National Museum
