François Grenier De Saint Martin (1793-1867), Pair Of Oil On Canvas, Signed, Dated 1833

François Grenier de Saint Martin (1793-1867), Pair of oil paintings on canvas, signed, dated 1833 - "Landscape of the Roman Campagna".
Perfect condition as restored in our workshop
Empire period frames, restored and cleaned again by our wood gilder.
H x W = 93 x 118 for the canvases
H x W = 110 x 135 for the canvases + frames

François Grenier de Saint Martin (1793-1867)
He entered the École des Beaux-Arts in 1812 and trained under David and Guérin. He received a second-class medal in 1810 and a first-class medal in 1834.
In 1841, he was awarded the Legion of Honor. He exhibited at the Salon from 1810 to 1865. His works are present in several museums such as Compiègne and Versailles. The scenes are realistic and well-rendered through the details and meticulous lines.
He exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1819 onward; his work is part of the transition between neoclassicism, influenced by Poussin, and also by the beginnings of the Barbizon School.
François Grenier de Saint-Martin embodies the French neoclassical tradition of the early 19th century, with a rich output combining history painting, portraits, and graphic art. Recognized by his peers, rewarded with official commissions, and honored with the Legion of Honor, he leaves a notable legacy through works scattered throughout French and foreign museums.

He was a student of Jacques-Louis David, like many painters of the time, several of whom spent time in Italy, often in Rome via the Prix de Rome. This is the period of our painting, which dates back to the early 1830s.
It is possible that he studied or copied Italian works in Paris (at the Louvre, in academies, or in private collections, as is the case here for Michalon's painting), as was common at the time. Many artists trained their "Italian eye" through these means without having to travel to Italy.

Here we believe he painted a pair of commissioned canvases, with the first painting being a copy of Michalon's famous painting, "Landscape Inspired by the View of Frascati," presented at the 1822 Salon and purchased by Louis XVIII, now in the Louvre. The second painting is a pair with the first, and it is the latter that is signed Grenier in the lower right corner (he often signed "Grenier" in red cursive letters in the lower right corner). The date 1833 confirms an early Romantic or Neoclassical style.

François Grenier de Saint-Martin's landscapes, although less famous than his historical scenes or portraits, exhibit several notable characteristics typical of a neoclassical painter influenced by Romanticism and emerging realism.
Thus, our paintings reflect the characteristics typical of his oeuvre: narrative rather than purely contemplative, structured and drawn, influenced by engraving, naturalistic yet measured, with an illustrative or historical function.

1) Structured and balanced composition:
- Heir to French classicism, his landscapes are often orderly, with a clear structure: well-defined foregrounds, a marked horizon line, successive shots.
- The arrangement of elements (rocks, trees, architecture, human figures) often serves a narrative or genre scene.

2) Frequent human or narrative presence
He is not a "pure landscape artist" like Corot or Daubigny: his landscapes serve as a setting for human or military action, such as:
- Battle of Campillo de Arenas (1823),
- Attack on a village by French riflemen,
- View of Le Havre, View of Port-Vendres, etc.
The landscape is a living and dramatic context, not an autonomous subject.

3) Naturalistic but tempered palette
- The tones are generally moderate and realistic, far from the violent contrasts of Romanticism
- exuberant, but warmer than pure Neoclassicism. - Soft light, carefully treated cloudy skies, calm yet inhabited atmospheres.

4) Careful observation of details
- Attention to topographical detail and the veracity of material elements (costumes, landscapes with architecture, vegetation, rural scenes, etc.),
- Influence of documentary realism, probably to meet official or bourgeois demands. Very polished technique, meticulous details, airy composition.

5) Influence of engraving and lithography
- Having produced extensively in lithography, his painted landscapes sometimes retain a clear interpretation of shapes, sharp contours, close to a colored drawing.
- A sense of visual narrative structured like a theater scene, which gives his landscapes immediate readability.

His works in museums
->Napoleon III purchased hunting paintings from him, exhibited at the 1857 Salon.
→ Carnavalet Museum; History of Paris. Numerous prints and lithographs (Twelve Subjects series, genre scenes, etc.)
→Geneva Museum of Art and History. Small graphic pieces and mentions in historical catalogs/exhibitions
->Louvre Museum / Louvre Collections: entries for drawings/studies,
->Louis-Philippe commissioned him for the Galerie des Batailles at Versailles. Historical galleries: documented presence in inventories/catalogues.
→ Château de Malmaison: mention of a work (Napoleon Receiving a Petition) in inventories/old acquisitions.
→ Musée du Mont-de-Piété / Musée de Bergues: Allegory of Prudence (1818) — photographs and notes (from Bergues / loan to exhibitions such as the Louvre-Lens).