작품 상세

CHARLES-FRANÇOIS GRENIER DE LACROIX, DIT LACROIX DE MARSEILLE , MARSEILLE, 1700 - BERLIN, 1782 Marine in the setting sun Oil on panel 21 x 38 cm Dominating this bay, an ancient gate, a ruin of a prestigious past, introduces us to an ethereal landscape. The sun setting on the horizon has already disappeared under the clouds. Only a few pink colours remain, diluted in a pearly mist. In the foreground, a fisherman's black silhouette stands out against the horizon, while two women, sitting in the background, provide the only touches of bright colour. In the background stands the massive tower of a lighthouse which will soon light its fire to take over from the sun. Finally, in the centre of the roadstead, a boat has lowered its sails. Calm reigns here. Lacroix de Marseille has made a speciality of imaginary seascapes, pretexts for scenes where the climatic situations are varied. Here he adds the antique touch inherited from his elders, which consists of quoting or reinterpreting some monument copied in Rome during his stay, in the spirit of the 'caprices' that were highly prized at the time. Nature and culture allow the amateur to compare the beauties of the natural landscape with those of human creations in ruins, for a meditation on the passage of time that spares nothing and no one. Lacroix de Marseille (1700-82) was a French landscape painter who settled in Rome, from 1750 to 1763, where he discovered both Antiquity and the landscape painting inherited from the previous century. Indeed, Le Lorrain and Poussin initiated this genre, in which ancient architecture abounds, quoted or revisited. However, with Lacroix from Marseille, no majestic ports with rigorous perspectives but a predilection for the picturesque and for a wilder nature. He developed a style under the influence of Claude-Joseph Vernet, whom he met during his stay in Rome in 1751, and from whom he learned to paint seascapes. Vernet, who had just been commissioned by the king to paint his famous series of 'Ports de France', sought accuracy, while Lacroix preferred a more poetic vision. In his enchanting vision of the world, the characters move with naturalness. His painting, highly prized by 18th century enthusiasts and which he declined over and over again by varying its nocturnal or morning, calm or stormy effects, can be found today in the greatest private and public collections. Signatur: Signed and dated lower left 'DeLacroix/1776'