View of Paris seen from Meudon

40: View of Paris seen from Meudon

Georges Michel
Paris 1763 - 1843 Paris

2019-S.2: Fondation Custodia
Rights held by: Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris

Although Michel traveled to Switzerland and Germany, he was loyal to his hometown of Paris, where he lived, worked, and died. He exhibited at the Salon continuously between 1791 and 1841, but was unsuccessful in achieving official recognition and earned his living by working as a copyist and restorer. Emulating the 17th-century masters of the Dutch Golden Age, he became known as “the Ruisdael of Montmartre,” specializing in landscapes of the windmills and plains of Saint-Denis just outside the city. His work was admired by avant-garde landscape artists later in the century, including Vincent van Gogh.

Text written and researched by Michelle Bird National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.

Oil on paper, mounted on wood panel
73.7 × 93 cm