HENRI-JOSEPH HARPIGNIES (Valenciennes 1819 - 1916 St-Prive (Yonne))
View towards Lago Albano
traces of pencil underdrawing, watercolor. 9 3/8 x 197/8" (238 x 502mm). monogrammed in pencil l/l: h.h. and inscribed by the artist: a mon ami Gerald L Albano.
After having traveled through France and parts of Northern Europe, Harpignies set his sights on Italy, arriving in 1849. It was there that he began to paint in watercolor. His watercolors would be well received in London and New York, providing some financial security. His trip to Rome, Civitavecchia, Velletri, Arricia, Naples, and Capri had a profound impact. He would enter the Salon for the first time, in 1853, with two of his three entry paintings being Italian landscapes. Soon afterward, he met Corot whose influence would last a lifetime. He returned to Italy in 1863 for two years. His watercolors would soon be ranked in France too as amongst the best of his time.
The present composition comes to a climax at the belltower, presumably of a church. The rocky bluff on the left and the clustering of shrubbery on the right flank the central opening that descends to an ancient town. An old wall leads the eye to the vertical monument which dominates the town and soars upwards over the lake with striking geometry. The light is reminiscent of Corot's in Italy, effecting sunlit brightness, dappled and contrasting shadows. Then it is overtaken by an unpiercable atmospheric density over the lake. These combined features give this work drama and beauty.
A watercolor of Paestum of similar proportions and also a composition focused on the temple at the center of it, is dated 1851. The technique is considerably looser than that of the present and so it is likely that Albano was executed at a later date, perhaps during the second Italian trip. Technically, the brushstroke of leaves silhouetted against the lighter background of water and sky is a hallmark of the artist. The use of warmer rather than cooler colors, less usual for Harpignies, may well be due to the warm luminosity of the Italian light.
A finished oil painting of a similar view and dated 1828, by Amedee Bourgeois, was published by Crawley & Asquith Ltd with John Lishawa, The Art of the Landscape, London, July 1988, pp 78-79.