C.W. Eckersberg (1783–1853)
The Longchamp Gate in the Bois-de-Boulogne, 1812
Oil on canvas
In 1810, C.W. Eckersberg set out on a long sojourn abroad. His first stop was Paris, where he settled for three years. Although his ambitions to work with history painting were the main factor governing his choice of work in the French capital, he also allowed himself to be enthusiastic about the city, its spaces and its street life. Together with his friend and roommate, Danish landscape painter J.P. Møller (1783–1854), he went on excursions in Paris and the surrounding area. He took a sketchbook with him, recording his observations of landscape, architecture and the locals. The studies were later used as the basis for paintings and there is little to suggest that Eckersberg painted out of doors at this point in time.1
In his diary, Eckersberg noted that he went on a trip to the Bois de Boulogne and the town of Neuilly on 7 June 1812. Presumably it was on this trip that he found the subject of The Longchamp Gate in the Bois-de-Boulogne, with its light and colours heavily redolent with summer.2 Eckersberg has obviously adhered to the classical principle of composition which dictates that a painting should be delimited and closed off at the sides. He has also narrowed the view of the landscape with Mont Calvaire in the background, thereby ensuring that the strolling – and, incidentally, quite ordinary – couple in the foreground catches our attention.
Eckersberg did only a few landscapes and architectural scenes during his time in Paris. The Longchamp Gate in the Bois-de-Boulogne is one of four prospects from Paris that Eckersberg created on commission from collectors back home in Denmark. This particular piece was made for astronomer and former chancellor of the University of Copenhagen, justice Thomas Bugge (1740–1815), who furthermore received a pendant, The Aqueduct in Arcueil, which The David Collection also owns today (4/2020).
In his diary, Eckersberg noted that he went on a trip to the Bois de Boulogne and the town of Neuilly on 7 June 1812. Presumably it was on this trip that he found the subject of The Longchamp Gate in the Bois-de-Boulogne, with its light and colours heavily redolent with summer.2 Eckersberg has obviously adhered to the classical principle of composition which dictates that a painting should be delimited and closed off at the sides. He has also narrowed the view of the landscape with Mont Calvaire in the background, thereby ensuring that the strolling – and, incidentally, quite ordinary – couple in the foreground catches our attention.
Eckersberg did only a few landscapes and architectural scenes during his time in Paris. The Longchamp Gate in the Bois-de-Boulogne is one of four prospects from Paris that Eckersberg created on commission from collectors back home in Denmark. This particular piece was made for astronomer and former chancellor of the University of Copenhagen, justice Thomas Bugge (1740–1815), who furthermore received a pendant, The Aqueduct in Arcueil, which The David Collection also owns today (4/2020).