Collection Online as of September 29, 2023
View of Saint-Cloud, Near the Seine
Alexandre Pau de St. Martin
(French)
Oil on fabric
Unframed: 43.9 x 67.6 cm (17 5/16 x 26 5/8 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin 1977.121
Location
not on view
Description
This painting depicts the park associated with the royal Chateau of Saint-Cloud, famous for its terraced gardens overlooking the River Seine. At the left of the scene, one of the park's gazebos is set among the trees. This view from Saint-Cloud over the river was a traditional and popular one. Very little is known about the life of Pau de Saint-Martin. Most of his surviving works are landscapes, the titles of which indicate he painted in the Forest of Fontainebleau, southeast of Paris, as early as 1795. Perhaps the artist is most important as the teacher of his nephew Theodore Rousseau (1812–1867), who became the founder of the Barbizon school of landscape painting.
Alexandre Pau de St. Martin
Very little is known about Alexandre Pau de Saint-Martin, the man or the artist. His birth and death dates remain obscure. Only the period of his professional activities can be pinned down by means of his participation in the Salon from 1791 through 1848. From 1791 until 1812 he exhibited under the name Saint-Martin and from 1814 until 1848 under the name Pau de Saint-Martin. Émile Bellier de la Chavignerie mentions him in his dictionary as a student of Leprince (this could only be Jean-Baptiste, 1734-1781) and of Vernet (Carle ? 1758-1836) and gives an extensive list of his works. The titles of the paintings the artist exhibited at the Salons reveal that he initially produced landscapes with figures and animals, like Boquet (q.v.), who was also said to be a student of a certain Leprince. Furthermore, the titles of his work also indicate that he worked in the forest of Fontainebleau as early as 1795. From then until 1848 he painted in many regions of France, and around 1830 he was in Switzerland. His greatest claim to glory is that he taught Théodore Rousseau (q.v.), his cousin. Alexandre Pau de Saint-Martin had a son named Pierre-Alexandre who was also a painter.