To trace the history of landscape painting in Provence from 1750 to 1920 is to reveal the vital role of the Midi in the development of a genre that proved to be of major importance and cleared
the way for the most innovative experiments.
As this catalogue demonstrates, the history of landscape painting in Provence began in the eighteenth century. One of the finest pages in the history of landscapes opens to Joseph Vernet. His
seascapes, storms and, above all, famous series of French ports - broad, spectacular views, veritable topographical descriptions combining the demands for realism with a study of variations in
light - served as a model for many artists, including Lacroix de Marseille and Henry d'Arles. The works of lesser-known artists, such as Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld and Jean-Antoine Constantin,
who taught Granet and Loubon, testify to the fondness for the simple poetry of elegiac nature, which in Provence offered a foretaste of Italy.
