Landscape Near Cava

Artist Achille Etna Michallon (French, 1796-1822)

Place of OriginRome, Italy

Dateabout 1820

DimensionsH: 13 3/4 in. (34.9 cm); W: 19 in. (48.3 cm)

MediumOil on paper on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LineGift of The Georgia Welles Apollo Society

Object number

2010.30

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 31

Label TextAchille Michallon, the son of sculptor Claude Michallon, grew up in the Louvre where his parents had an apartment adjacent to his father's studio. Trained as a painter under Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes (see his Classical Landscape in the Museum’s collection), Michallon exhibited two works in 1817 at the annual exhibition sponsored by the French Academy of Painting and Sculpture that earned him the very first prix de Rome for historical landscape. The prestigious “Rome prize” was given by the Academy in several categories and allowed artists to spend a period of time working in Rome at the state’s expense. Michallon set off for Rome in 1818 and stayed in Italy until 1821. While there he painted Landscape Near Cava. It records the locale near Cava de Tirreni, situated between Naples and Salerno. The picturesque town was a stopping-off place for artists traveling down the Italian coast. The dramatic vista explores Michallon’s intellectual and emotional response to Nature largely by means of perspective and color gradation.Published ReferencesCaillau-Lamico, P., "Achille Etna Michallon," in Pierre Miquel, Le paysage français au XIXe siècle, Éditions de la Martinelle, 1975, volume II, described and reproduced p. 78.

"Achille Etna Michallon, catalogue de l'œuvre peint," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, October 1997, described and reproduced as no. 89, p. 140.

Exhibition HistoryMuseé du Louvre, Paris, Achille Etna Michallon, Vincent Pomarède, Edition de la Réunion des musées nationaux, 1994, cat. no. 85, p. 183.

Toledo Museum of Art, Inspired Giving: The Apollo Society 25th Anniversary Exhibition, October 15, 2010-February 13, 2011, p. 46, repr. (col.) p. 46 and cover.