Home Online catalogues True to Nature. Open-air Painting 1780-1870 105. Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes Toulouse 1750 – 1819 Paris Study of Clouds over the Roman Campagna, c. 1782-1785 In his treatise Élémens de perspective, Valenciennes recommended that painters begin with the sky when making open-air oil sketches, as it is the main source of light in nature and sets the overall tone of a landscape. This quickly painted cloud study is part of a group executed by the artist during his second Italian journey of c. 1782-85. Working from an elevated position, he summarily indicated the rolling hills of the Roman countryside and focused his attention on the sky, capturing the everchanging silvery-white cloud formations with a lively impasto. Because of the ephemeral quality of atmospheric phenomena and weather conditions, Valenciennes advised his readers and students to spend no longer than two hours on a sketch, with particularly fleeting effects such as sunrises or sunsets limited to half an hour.
In his treatise Élémens de perspective, Valenciennes recommended that painters begin with the sky when making open-air oil sketches, as it is the main source of light in nature and sets the overall tone of a landscape. This quickly painted cloud study is part of a group executed by the artist during his second Italian journey of c. 1782-85. Working from an elevated position, he summarily indicated the rolling hills of the Roman countryside and focused his attention on the sky, capturing the everchanging silvery-white cloud formations with a lively impasto. Because of the ephemeral quality of atmospheric phenomena and weather conditions, Valenciennes advised his readers and students to spend no longer than two hours on a sketch, with particularly fleeting effects such as sunrises or sunsets limited to half an hour.