Alexandre CALAME (1810-1864)

Alpine landscape Oil on canvas signed lower left. Size: 38,5 x 27 cm Provenance: Private collection, Switzerland and Monte-Carlo Biography: Swiss painter and engraver born in Vevey, son of a stonecutter, he showed artistic talent from an early age, painting "Swiss" views that his mother sold to tourists. Geneva patrons allowed him to attend François Diday's studio and he decided to devote himself entirely to painting. He quickly met with great success and opened a drawing class in Geneva while exhibiting in Paris. Alexandre Calame's work is characterized by an unwavering fidelity to nature with a predilection for the Swiss alpine landscape, becoming the undisputed master of the alpine landscape. It is worth noting that Napoleon III bought a prize-winning painting from him at the Universal Exhibition. When he fell ill, his doctor ordered him to go and stay in the South of France in Menton where he died on March 17, 1864.