Louis François Cassas (1756-1827) - Arcadian landscape

Louis François CASSAS
(Azay-le-Ferron 1756 - Versailles 1827)
Arcadian landscape
Watercolor over black stone
Paper mounted on cardboard
H. 91 cm; L. 58.5 cm
circa 1782

Related work :
- Composition based on a large part of our work, in the Albertina Museum, Vienna, Inv. 15353

Cassas spent his early formative years in the Parisian home of the Duc de Rohan Chabot, where a drawing school had been founded. Although the lessons of Vernet, Vien, Lagrenée and Leprince were invaluable, it was his stay in Italy from 1779 to 1783 that had the greatest influence on his career. In Rome and Campania, Cassas showed a growing interest in ancient sites and monuments. His drawing skills were exceptional, and he worked ceaselessly, touring Italy, Greece and Dalmatia. A little later, he accompanied the Comte de Choiseul-Gouffier to Constantinople, and for four years traveled throughout the Near East and Asia Minor, cataloguing all the classical sites. In the early 19th century, he used his drawings to produce books on his travels. His career remains intimately linked to the rediscovery of ancient civilizations, and his drawings, books and engravings are also unique testimonies to this era.

Our large watercolor evokes Lebanon and the beautiful region of Dalmatia. Although certainly imaginary, this highly vertical view is known from another version with significant variants, preserved at the Albertina Museum in Vienna. The composition, closed by a foreground of tall trees whose trunks give us an idea of their height, then opens out slightly onto a river or mountain lake. Above, the mountain imposes itself, dry, strong, unfurling its mass to the top of the leaf. This mountain is not present in the Albertina watercolour.