42 - Louise Joséphine SARAZIN de BELMONT (Versailles, 1790 – Paris, 1870)

Louise Joséphine SARAZIN de BELMONT (Versailles, 1790 – Paris, 1870) La Cava Paper mounted on canvas. Monogrammed, located, and dated in the lower left corner: SB (linked) / La Cava / 1825. Damage. 41 x 56.5 cm Provenance Former collection of Jacques-Olivier-Marie Urvoy de Saint-Bedan (1780–1758), by descent. Louise-Joséphine Sarazin de Belmont was among the first women to devote herself exclusively to landscape painting. A student of Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes, whose studio was open to women, she learned from him the importance of working en plein air. This practice was evident during her stay in Italy between 1824 and 1826. From Rome to Palermo, via Tivoli, Terni, Subiaco, Naples, and Paestum, Sarazin de Belmont observed the sites firsthand and noted the variations in light. Our painting is set in La Cava (now Cava de’ Tirreni), near Salerno, on the Amalfi Coast. This destination was popular with many artists in the 19th century, particularly for its monastery. The village, its bell tower, and scattered houses only gradually come into view, emerging from behind the densely vegetated hills. Another study by the artist, of similar dimensions and depicting the same location, was sold at our auction (Daguerre, March 20, 2018, lot 85) and is now on loan to the Fogg Art Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Both views feature a similar arrangement of rocky formations that partially obstruct the view and structure the composition, with a small opening toward the sky. Upon her return to Paris, Louise-Joséphine Sarazin de Belmont made her debut at the Salon in 1812 with historical landscapes and continued to exhibit there with exceptional longevity until 1867. Empress Joséphine and the Duchess of Berry collected several of her paintings. Located in the Saint-Germain district, her studio was a popular gathering place for intellectual circles, where many artists (Ingres, Gros?) would meet. An avid traveler, she was one of the first painters to visit Sicily. She worked in the Pyrenees from 1828 to 1835, then in Brittany (1847), and in Germany (1838). She returned to Italy for extended stays (1839–1841 and 1843–1850).