Home Online catalogues True to Nature. Open-air Painting 1780-1870 28. Anonymous French, 19th century Landscape in Saint-Cloud Unfinished outdoor oil studies are not uncommon. Whether left incomplete intentionally or abandoned due to a simple change of heart or unforeseen meteorological events, they are of particular interest in their deconstruction of an artist’s method. This view of Saint-Cloud was initially sketched in pencil, after which the anonymous French painter began filling out the sky and elements in the distance. Some artists kept their incomplete studies in their workshops, as they were seen as valuable pedagogical tools for passing on the minutiae of the plein air technique.
Unfinished outdoor oil studies are not uncommon. Whether left incomplete intentionally or abandoned due to a simple change of heart or unforeseen meteorological events, they are of particular interest in their deconstruction of an artist’s method. This view of Saint-Cloud was initially sketched in pencil, after which the anonymous French painter began filling out the sky and elements in the distance. Some artists kept their incomplete studies in their workshops, as they were seen as valuable pedagogical tools for passing on the minutiae of the plein air technique.