Lot 1146 Dα

Little is known about Claude Louis Chatelet's artistic training, as the first records of his life appear in 1776 when he accompanied the composer Jean Benjamin de la Borde to Switzerland. In 1777 he embarked on a further sojourn to Italy with Vivant Denon, Louis-Jean Desprez and Jean-Augustin Renard. Alongside vedutas of his homeland of France, he also painted Swiss and Italian landscapes after these visits. He was especially famed for his watercolours, which were often used as designs for prints and book illustrations, including the famous “Voyage pittoresque ou Description des Royaumes de Naples et de Sicile” by Jean Claude Richard de Saint-Non (Abbé de Saint-Non). This work was published in five volumes from 1781 to 1786 and also included illustrations based on works by Hubert Robert, Fragonard and Vernet. At the same time, Chatelet's Swiss travelling companion de la Borde published the “Tableaux de la Suisse” after drawings by the artist. Chatelet appears to have been a staunch supporter of the French Revolution and an active member of the Revolutionary Tribunal. However, he was later to face the guillotine himself in 1795 aged just 42 after the fall of Robespierre.
Although many watercolours and gouaches by Chatelet are still in existence, his paintings are incredibly rare. These two large mountain landscapes, which were probably designed as a pair, thus represent highly important examples of his vedutas in oils. Chatelet's works are comparable with those of Hubert Robert, Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Joseph Vernet. The landscape with the lake, where the figures are arranged as if on a stage, is particularly reminiscent of Vernet. The figure of the artist drawing in the second image with the imposing waterfall is especially charming, as Chatelet himself must have sat in a similar manner to make sketches for his later paintings and engraving designs. The figure could even be a self-portrait of the artist.