1840
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Landscape with Two Monks is a 1840 by Édouard Bertin, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows two monks walking down a quiet road in Italy. The older monk leans on a staff while the younger carries a bundle. Bertin used blue paper for a soft, cool light effect. Bertin studied with famous painters but later focused on real landscapes. He lived in Italy for over ten years, painting what he saw. This scene feels calm and ordinary, not dramatic. Check out the blue paper technique in person at The Cleveland Museum of Art.
Bertin studied initially with Girodet and later with Ingres and from them acquired a grounding in classical landscape. He began his career by submitting a historical landscape to the Salon of 1827, but shortly thereafter he broke with classical tradition and devoted himself to painting and drawing from nature. He traveled widely in Europe, particularly in Italy, where he lived for more than a decade. In this drawing on blue paper, two monks populate an Italian roadside scene. Bertin combined a close examination of nature in the specific rendering of the trees and rocks with a clear, almost…
Read the full account in the museum source.
François-Édouard Bertin (French pronunciation: ; 1797–1871) was a French painter born in Paris, and the son of the renowned journalist Louis-François Bertin.
See the richer artist page![A Terrace and Garden on Capri [recto]](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/8bd3839591b56d81/thumb.webp)
![View up a Street in Sorrento [verso]](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/d628dffbf459271a/thumb.webp)
