Artwork

Voyages pittoresques et romantiques dans l'ancienne France. Bretagne: Chateau de Clisson

Voyages pittoresques et romantiques dans l'ancienne France. Bretagne: Chateau de Clisson is a print by the Romanticist artist Eugène Cicéri. It dates from 1845 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Accession no.: 1941.203
Credit line: Twenty-fifth anniversary gift, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Williams Collection

About this work

Overview

Created around 1845 by French artist Eugène Cicéri, this print depicts the medieval Château de Clisson perched atop a hill in Brittany. The composition centers on the fortified structure, its towers and curtain walls rising above a surrounding landscape of trees and a low bridge, under a muted, cloud‑filled sky.

Subject & Meaning

The scene presents the castle as a romantic ruin, a common motif in 19th‑century French art that evoked nostalgia for the medieval past. Figures in period costume are shown seated near the bridge, suggesting a leisurely encounter with history and reinforcing the picturesque quality of the view.

Technique & Style

Executed as a print, the work employs delicate line work and tonal washes characteristic of Romantic landscape representation. Cicéri’s handling of light and atmosphere, particularly the soft, overcast sky, creates a sense of melancholy and emphasizes the sublime qualities of the ruin.

History & Provenance

The image forms part of Cicéri’s series "Voyages pittoresques et romantiques dans l'ancienne France," which documented historic French sites. The print entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it remains on view as part of the museum’s European prints holdings.