Date
1819
Object Type
Painting
Subject
View of Villa Sommariva
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Painting Collection, on long-term loan and on display at Villa Carlotta, Tremezzina (Como), since 1961
About The Work
After receiving his initial artistic training in Lyon from his father, a painter of landscapes, and from Jean-Jacques de Boissieu, Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld furthered his studies under the guidance of his brother Jean-Pierre. Then he moved to Paris in 1783, where he came into contact with Claude-Joseph Vernet. In 1785 he settled in Italy, where he spent five years, travelling between Tuscany, Umbria and the Kingdom of Naples. These studies abroad, which brought in connection with many important French artists, notably Louis Gauffier, Nicolas Antoine Taunay and Guillaume Lethière, enabled him to develop a personal style characterised by a pictorial rendering of extraordinary lucidity and precision.
This clear vision also informs the View of Villa Sommariva, the summer residence of Giovanni Battista Sommariva, President of the Cisalpine Republic and Napoleon’s right-hand man in Milan. Set between the mountains of Tremezzina and the crystal-clear waters of Lake Como, the Villa was a renowed destination for visitors and art lovers due to its collections, which included works by Antonio Canova and Andrea Appiani. The simple 17th-century architecture blended into the surrounding landscape, offering views of various farmsteads and a garden planted with rare and exotic species. The desire to own a view of the place must have prompted Sommariva to commission the work from Bidauld, who was then at the height of his success. Having won a gold medal at the Paris Salon in 1812, he was a painter greatly in demand with the imperial family, who ordered numerous landscapes from him.
The painting entered the collection through the bequest of Countess Emilia Seillière, the last descendant of the Sommariva family.
This clear vision also informs the View of Villa Sommariva, the summer residence of Giovanni Battista Sommariva, President of the Cisalpine Republic and Napoleon’s right-hand man in Milan. Set between the mountains of Tremezzina and the crystal-clear waters of Lake Como, the Villa was a renowed destination for visitors and art lovers due to its collections, which included works by Antonio Canova and Andrea Appiani. The simple 17th-century architecture blended into the surrounding landscape, offering views of various farmsteads and a garden planted with rare and exotic species. The desire to own a view of the place must have prompted Sommariva to commission the work from Bidauld, who was then at the height of his success. Having won a gold medal at the Paris Salon in 1812, he was a painter greatly in demand with the imperial family, who ordered numerous landscapes from him.
The painting entered the collection through the bequest of Countess Emilia Seillière, the last descendant of the Sommariva family.
Title
Veduta di Villa Sommariva
Creator
Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld
Subject
View of Villa Sommariva
Object Type
Painting
Original Function
Collection
Date
1819
Inscriptions
Signed ad dated lower right: "Bidauld 1819"
Crest
On the stretcher, top right, paper label of the "Mostra del Giardino Italiano - Firenze 1931 - 625"; paper label: "Proprietà della / Reale Accademia di Belle Arti / N. 5"; paper label: "Musei del Comune di Milano / Pinacoteca [...] 4066"; paper label: "Cadenabbia / Villa Carlotta".
Technique / Support
Oil on canvas
Visual analysis of the technique
Jean‑Joseph‑Xavier Bidauld renders the architectural surfaces of the villa and the luxuriant garden with extraordinary precision and minute, attentive brushwork. His refined skill is particularly evident in the delicate reflection of the buildings and greenery in the waters of Lake Como, where the brushstroke softens into subtle tonal gradations, in contrast to the thin and carefully defined handling of the architectural details
Dimensions
cm 64.5 x 81
Acquisition
Bequest of Emilia Sommariva Seillière, 1873
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Painting Collection, on long-term loan and on display at Villa Carlotta, Tremezzina (Como), since 1961
Inventory number
Reg. 1947, 477
Bibliography
Lazzaro, Roberta. Entry no. 103. In Pinacoteca di Brera. Dipinti dell’Ottocento e del Novecento. Collezioni dell’Accademia e della Pinacoteca, vol. 1, Musei e Gallerie di Milano, edited by Fernando Mazzocca. Milano: Mondadori Electa, 1993. 105–107, ill. (with previous bibliography).
Nenci, Chiara. “Pensionati e concorsi della Scuola di Paesaggio”, in Viaggio in Lombardia. Opere delle collezioni della Rete museale dell'Ottocento Lombardo, edited by Susanna Zatti. Torino: Umberto Allemandi, 2012. 41, 46, 172, ill. 17.
Previtera, Maria Angela. "La Villa di Tremezzo". In L’Olimpo sul Lago. Canova, Thorvaldsen, Hayez e i tesori della collezione Sommariva, edited by Fernando Mazzocca, Maria Angela Previtera, and Elena Lissoni. Cinisello Balsamo (Milano): Silvana editoriale, 2024. 192–193, ill.
Nenci, Chiara. “Pensionati e concorsi della Scuola di Paesaggio”, in Viaggio in Lombardia. Opere delle collezioni della Rete museale dell'Ottocento Lombardo, edited by Susanna Zatti. Torino: Umberto Allemandi, 2012. 41, 46, 172, ill. 17.
Previtera, Maria Angela. "La Villa di Tremezzo". In L’Olimpo sul Lago. Canova, Thorvaldsen, Hayez e i tesori della collezione Sommariva, edited by Fernando Mazzocca, Maria Angela Previtera, and Elena Lissoni. Cinisello Balsamo (Milano): Silvana editoriale, 2024. 192–193, ill.
Conservation status
Good
Restoration history
Conservation work carried out in 2021 by Studio di Restauro Simona Fiori
Type of intervention
Preliminary documentation; surface cleaning; paint film consolidation; removal of altered varnish; filling of losses; paint restoration; final varnishing.
Supervisory Authority: Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan City of Milan
Internal scientific director: Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Chiara Nenci
Technical director / Qualified restorer: Simona Fiori
Type of intervention
Preliminary documentation; surface cleaning; paint film consolidation; removal of altered varnish; filling of losses; paint restoration; final varnishing.
Supervisory Authority: Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan City of Milan
Internal scientific director: Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Chiara Nenci
Technical director / Qualified restorer: Simona Fiori
Frame, base, secondary support
Modern frame. A rectangular, gilded, and moulded frame with alternating concave and convex profiles, characterized by a refined yet restrained design.
Unique identifier
0300053451