Attr. Constantine of Aix, Animated Landscape with Roman Soldiers, 18th/19th Century

Rocky landscape animated by Roman soldiers in armor: pen and ink wash drawing, gouache or watercolor, in a gilded wooden frame from the Louis XVI period

Drawing attributed to Jean Antoine Constantin known as Constantin d'Aix, an artist from Marseille who settled in Aix en Provence: after studying in Rome, he returned to France and devoted himself to painting and drawing landscapes
In 1787 and until the Revolution, he was appointed director of the drawing school of Aix-en-Provence (his students included François-Marius Granet and Auguste de Forbin) then professor at the school of Digne under the Empire
He returned to Aix in 1813, where he settled permanently. Throughout his life, Granet and Forbin supported him, allowing him to receive the gold medal at the Paris Exhibition in 1817, the title of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 1833, as well as a lifelong pension
Highly prized by Provençal families, he is often considered the “father of Provençal painting”. He played a key role in the emergence of a taste for landscape in this region, but also beyond, thanks to his students, many of whom had more prestigious careers than his own.
Constantin drew from life, using wash to capture a chosen point of view as faithfully as possible, or pen to fill his many sketchbooks. He also enjoyed drawing sites and views of cities, which he then reworked in his studio, sometimes mixing brown ink and gray ink in a more elaborate way

Old restorations, a fold, changed mat

Dimensions with frame: 89 x 75.5 cm
Dimensions of drawing: 39.5 x 31cm

Ref: PZ6GWXUTKT