View of a Town in the Sabine Hills
View of a Town in the Sabine Hills is an artwork by Jean-Victor Bertin in 1814 which reveals from a distance, a city constructed on the historical Sabine Hills. During this period, oil painting was the primary medium used to paint such artworks, and the artist utilizes it with the use of primary colors to generate a clear illustration of his image. Jean-Victor is one of the artist considered as a link between the philosophically opposed traditions in landscape painting that emerged in France in the 17th century. The artist who lived between 1767 and 1842, has many of his paintings rooted in the Neoclassical painting school, with the characteristics of the tight composition, smooth brushwork and mythological subjects. As a painter, by 1788 Bertin discovered an interest in landscape painting and entered the studio of Pierre – Henri, a neoclassical painter. Between this year and 1793, he participated in several competitions and advanced to a regular exhibition at Paris Salon until his death.
The relevance of the title
The title of the painting reflects on the old Sabine hills, also call the Happy Valey, Watauga Point which is a historic house in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Construction in the mountains, which includes a two-story Federal style construction, is an example of an excellent example of federal architecture. The city in the Sabine Hills had a threat of demolition in 2007 as the owners had the intentions to have the property rezoned for apartments. However, the rezoning request never went through, and the home was bought by several locals who secured it until the state of Tennessee could purchase it as a museum-quality property. The property was restored back and opened for the public recently on November 2017 as a unit of the Sycamore Shoals State Park.
Features of the Painting
In the picture by Bertin show, a city from a distance with few operations going on around the building with few people see a mile from the building. The building appears suitably placed on a hill with a stream flowing beautifully beside it and on the other side, a thick forest propagated by the hills’ climate. The artist utilizes green color to paint the environs of the city and blue and traces of yellow color to reveal the sky which has some weak clouds. The image seems illuminated by natural light, preferably sun, which is in the opposite direction of the image with its rays reflected by the shadows on the sky.
Elements of the image
From a distance, any viewer gets drawn by the city which is almost at the center of the painting. Surrounded by a green environment and a stream, the town becomes the center of interest since there appears to be no other building around it. The painting is smooth as most of Bertin’s smooth brushwork with the use of oil painting as its medium. The image provides a cool mood propagated by the climate of the area, fewer operations or human activities and the few populations as indicated with only three people seen in action. Therefore, the image is nostalgic and the open climate of the day makes to the mood.
Conclusion
View of a Town in the Sabine Hills painting reflects on the right specialization of Jean-Victor Bertin’s works as he specialized on landscape painting. Its orientation is a landscape providing enough space to include all the subjects in a balanced manner. As a student of the Neoclassical school of art, the artwork utilizes the tight composition and smooth brushwork and antique matter. The image is sharp and presents balanced features with balanced color and well illuminated. It comes out perfect and smooth with a surety of durability due to the medium used. There are no traces of lines for its drawings as the painting well covers them. Although an image produced a long time ago. It retains its perfect beauty and carries its themes effectively.
Works cited
Galassi, Peter. Before photography: painting and the invention of photography. Museum of Modern Art; Boston: Distributed by New York Graphic Society, 1981.
Olausson, Magnus, and Ludvig Florén. Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Stockholm. Volume 23, 2016. Nationalmuseum, 2017.
