Jean-achille Benouville (1815-1891) Rome, View Of The Forum, Pencil On Paper

Jean-Achille Benouville (1815-1891)
Rome, View of the Forum,
pencil on paper
28.5 x 37.5 cm
framed 38.5 x 47.5 cm

This drawing is characteristic of Romantic artists who, like Corot, travelled to Italy, such as Caruelle d'Aligny and Bertin.
Although it is unsigned, the drawing is characteristic of the style of Jean Achille Benouville, particularly the drawings he produced during his extended stay in Italy.
A number of his drawings in the collections of the Musée du Petit Palais in Paris provide a good basis for comparison.
The foreground, which is only sketched in, is typical of this composition, while the lightly shaded background is the main focus of the work.
The strong horizontal emphasis is also characteristic.
Stylistically, the artist's hand is evident in the way he renders the architecture, particularly the columns. Another feature of his work is the way he draws trees (middle right).
All of these features leave little doubt as to the artist's identity.

Finally, the subject is particularly attractive: at first glance, you can see the Roman Forum and part of the Palatine Hill on the right, probably drawn from the Capitoline Hill overlooking it. The attention paid to rendering the architecture is also impressive.
This is most probably a drawing done en plein air on the spot.
We follow the artist's gaze as he looks into the distance, unaware — a typical Bénouville trait — of the foreground.

Jean-Achille Benouville, known as Achille Benouville, was born on July 15, 1815 in Paris, where he died on February 6, 1891
Specializing in landscape painting, he is best known for his views of Italy.
He was the elder brother of painter François Léon Benouville (1821-1859), whose apprenticeship he completed with François Édouard Picot, then Léon Cogniet.
He painted landscapes around Paris, in Compiègne and Fontainebleau. In 1834, he exhibited for the first time at the Salon. In 1837, he entered the Beaux-Arts in Paris and won the second Prix de Rome in the “historical landscape” category. He then made three trips to Italy, including one in 1843 with Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, with whom he shared his Roman studio, where Corot painted Marietta. In 1845, he won the First Prix de Rome with Ulysse et Nausicaa. After a three-year stay at the Villa Medici, headquarters of the Académie de France in Rome, he decided to stay in Italy, where he practiced his art for 25 years. However, he continued to send paintings to the Paris Salons on a regular basis.
Jean-Achille Benouville had two sons, both of whom were architects: Pierre Louis Benouville (1852-1889) and Léon Benouville (1860-1903).
Guy de Maupassant dedicated his short story Mon oncle Jules to him in 1883.
Faithful throughout his life to the “historical landscape” genre inaugurated by Claude Lorrain, Achille Benouville adopted a more personal style over the years.
His light effects, which reveal the influence of his master and friend Corot, as in the View of a Roman Villa from 1844, attract attention. However, he paid more attention than his mentor to the sharpness of detail.
When he succeeds in combining the rendering of light with a concern for precision, the play of contrasts between delicate hues reveals a very sure sense of composition. The artist then expresses the best of his talent in a composition such as Capri, painted around 1845.

His works can be found in numerous museums
In the United States:
Baltimore, Walters Art Museum: Paysage aux bœufs, c. 1865-1868.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts: Italian Town on a Hill c. 1845.
Cleveland, Museum of Art: Capri, c. 1845; Landscape with rider on white horse, 1846.
Dallas, Museum of Art: The Colosseum seen from Mount Palatine, 1844.
Houston, Museum of Fine Arts: View of the Roman countryside, 1848.
New York, Dahesh Museum of Art: Landscape with Animals, 1842.
Washington, National Gallery of Art: Setting Sun Seen from a Rocky Shore, 1842, watercolor, gouache and brown ink.

In Germany
Munich, Neue Pinakothek: Abélard conversing with his pupils near Melun, 1837.

In France
Besançon, Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie: Adam and Eve driven from Eden, 1841.
Nancy, Musée des Beaux-Arts: View of Tivoli, 1864.
Paris, Musée d'Orsay
View of a Roman villa, 1844;
The Colosseum seen from Mount Palatine, 1870.
Paris, Musée du Petit Palais
Reims, Musée des Beaux-Arts: Tivoli, banks of the Aniene.
Rennes, Musée des Beaux-Arts: Landscape of Italy.