Pierre Henri de Valenciennes (Toulouse 1750-1819 Paris) A rocky landscape at dusk with a shrine inscribed 'le 22 Messidor an 13' (lower left) oil on paper, laid down on board 25.1 x 36cm (9 7/8 x 14 3/16in). unframed Footnotes: Provenance Sale, Christie's, New York, 17 October 2006, lot 64 Having trained in Paris Valenciennes went to Rome where, like a number of artists of his generation, he made sketching trips to the Roman campagna to paint en plein air. The immediacy of working in oil on paper afforded his sketches a freshness and naturalism that is often lost in the finished works for which these were preparatory studies. The artist has incised the inscription into wet paint along the bottom edge. The countryside around Rome provided inspiration to many northern artists, with its undulating landscape studded with romantic Roman ruins. The southern light had a great affect on them and in this study Valenciennes has shown a wayside shrine and distant ruins in the warm light of a Roman dusk. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com