A view of Vietri near the sea in the Gulf of Salerno with Capri in the background

Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld began painting in the studio of his brother, Jean-Pierre-Xavier, at just ten years old. By fifteen he had moved to Switzerland and discovered his passion for landscape painting, and by twenty-five he had landed in Paris where he took lessons from the famed landscape painter, Claude Joseph Vernet. He also encountered the picture dealer and restorer, Dulac, who helped the young Bidauld finance a trip to Italy, by employing him for the restoration of Dutch and Flemish landscapes.

Thirty years before the Impressionists took their paints outdoors, Bidauld favored painting en plein air, to capture the distinct effects of southern light upon the surrounding landscape. This view of the Gulf of Salerno was likely painted after Bidauld’s return to Paris, but displays his obsessive attention to the detail of the Italian natural landscape and the plays of light within it. This painting was exhibited at the Salon of 1814, at the height of Bidauld's fame, following the completion of the royal commissions for Charles IV of Spain and the French Royal family, in whose service he remained through the reign of Louis XVIII.

We are grateful to Mr. Stéphane Rouvet for supporting the attribution of this work. This painting will be included in the catalog raisonné of the artist currently in preparation.