id: 102069 accession number: 1920.726 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1920.726 updated: 2024-03-26 01:56:40.111000 Landscape, 1800s. François-Auguste Ravier (French, 1814–1895). Black chalk and graphite with white chalk and traces of pen and black ink; framing lines in graphite; sheet: 25.8 x 31.4 cm (10 3/16 x 12 3/8 in.); secondary support: 31.5 x 43.5 cm (12 3/8 x 17 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mme. Félix Thiollier 1920.726 title: Landscape title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1800s creation date earliest: 1814 creation date latest: 1895 current location: creditline: Gift of Mme. Félix Thiollier copyright: --- culture: France, 19th century technique: black chalk and graphite with white chalk and traces of pen and black ink; framing lines in graphite department: Drawings collection: DR - French type: Drawing find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * François-Auguste Ravier (French, 1814–1895) - artist François-Auguste Ravier was born in Lyons in 1814. His father, a confectioner, wanted him to pursue a career as a notary, and the young Ravier went off to Paris in 1832 to study law. His spare time was taken up with drawing and painting, and he has been said to have attended the studios of Jules Coignet (1798-1860) and Aligny (q.v.). But according to Nathalie Favier, an expert on this painter, it is possible that Ravier received advice from a number of artists without having pursued any traditional artistic training.1 In 1837-38 he painted in the Paris area, in the forest of Fontainebleau, and in the Dauphiné and the Bugey, a region to the east of Lyons. In Royat, in 1839, he met Corot (q.v.), whom he revered the most. Between 1840 and 1847, no doubt following Corot's advice, Ravier went on a number of lengthy trips to Italy to draw and paint in the Roman countryside. Upon his return to Lyons, he worked in the surrounding countryside, and met with artists such as Daubigny (q.v.) and Corot. In 1853 Ravier purchased a house in Crémieu, his home for the next fourteen years. He began to perfect his method: drawing in the morning and painting outdoors later in the afternoon. Contrary to the usual procedure, his smaller studies painted at the site served as a reference point for his watercolors, elaborated with the greatest care in the peace and quiet of the studio. These watercolors were highly sought after by the first admirers of Ravier's work. When Crémieu became too popular, Ravier moved away. In 1867 he settled in Morestel, about twenty kilometers from Crémieu. It is there that he died, almost thirty years later. Ravier was a thinker and a religious man. It is not surprising that around 1855 Corot used him as a model for one of his canvases, in which he appears as a monk.2 Ravier described himself as a misanthrope; this is why he always lived on the sidelines and without the official honors. In addition, he exhibited little compared to his artist friends. Nevertheless, he exhibited watercolors and oils at Dussere's in Lyons starting in the 1870s, then watercolors only at the Salons of Paris, Lyons, Grenoble, and Geneva in the mid-1880s. He participated in the Salon of Lyons in 1893 and in the Exposition Universelle of Lyons in 1894 as well.3 By placing the temperament of the artist at the core of creation, Ravier invented a technique that could have had an influence on Monticelli (q.v.) and van Gogh (q.v.). The latter may in fact have known Ravier's work through the intermediary of his brother Theo. Between 1883 and 1886 Theo was in charge of Ravier's late works with the dealer Boussod-Valadon. Ravier was one of the first painters to take an interest in photography. Around 1849-50, he was already experimenting with this new technique, probably out of a desire to go as far as possible in his explorations of the phenomenon of light. --- measurements: Sheet: 25.8 x 31.4 cm (10 3/16 x 12 3/8 in.); Secondary Support: 31.5 x 43.5 cm (12 3/8 x 17 1/8 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: description: gray-blue laid paper laid down on blue wove board watermarks: inscriptions: inscription: lower right, in black ink: [F?] ; lower right, in graphite: [illegible] ; VERSO OF SECONDARY SUPPORT, center right, in graphite: Ravier translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * {'description': 'none in wp file or departmental file', 'opening_date': None} --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1920.726/1920.726_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1920.726/1920.726_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1920.726/1920.726_full.tif