Study of a Tree
Medium
Lithograph in black on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 38.1 × 31 cm (15 × 12 1/4 in.); Sheet: 49.9 × 36.9 cm (19 11/16 × 14 9/16 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
39482
Art Historical Context
Jean-Victor Bertin's *Study of a Tree*1816) invites visitors to appreciate the meticulous observation of nature by this French Neoclassical landscape. Active during the early 19th century,in was renowned for his classical compositions inspired by ancient masters like Claude Lorrain, blending idealized forms with detailed natural studies. Created just after Napoleon's fall, this work reflects a renewed focus on the organic world amid shifting artistic tastes toward Romanticism, where trees symbolized strength and vitality. Rendered as a lithograph in black ink on creamy ivory wove paper, the p...
About the Artist
Jean Victor Bertin · 1775–1842
Jean-Victor Bertin (1767–1842) was a leading French neoclassical landscape painter whose meticulous classical compositions bridged the grandeur of historical landscapes with emerging plein air naturalism. Born in Paris on March 20, 1767, to a master wig-maker, Bertin entered the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture in 1785 at age eighteen as a pupil of history painter Gabriel-François Doyen...