Antoine Ponthus-Cinier Figurative Paintings

Antoine-Claude PONTHUS-CINIER (Lyon, 1812 - Lyon, 1885) The Trailer Ferry at Neuville-sur-Ain Oil on canvas H. 54 cm; W. 81 cm Sale stamp lower left. Provenance: 1885, Studio Sale, No. 18 Ponthus-Cinier belongs to what could be defined as the third (and, so to speak, last) generation of neoclassical or historical landscape artists, born in the 1810s and 1820s, such as Félix Lanoüe, Achille Bénouville, Paul Flandrin, Eugène Ferdinand Buttura, and Alfred de Curzon. More specifically, he is considered the leading and most popular representative of the Lyon School of landscape artists around the mid-19th century. A generous, honest, and pleasant companion, Ponthus-Cinier came from a family of merchants on his mother's side and magistrates on his father's. Destined for commerce by his parents, he preferred the artistic path, and after enrolling at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon in 1829 and training in Paris with Paul Delaroche, he exhibited his first works at the Lyon Salon of 1839, before participating in the Paris Salon in 1841. That same year, he received the second Prix de Rome for historical landscapes (won by Buttura in 1837, and Bénouville in 1845), beaten by the Versailles artist Lanoüe. To perfect his skills, Ponthus-Cinier then decided to travel to Italy, alone and at his own expense, for a single stay between 1842 and 1844; He discovered the Ligurian coast, Tuscany, Naples, and, of course, Rome and its surroundings, and executed a considerable number of studies (painted sketches or pen and ink sketches) that he used to compose views of Italy throughout his career. Ponthus-Cinier's main qualities probably lie in "the art of illuminating a canvas," as A. Jouve wrote in the 19th century, and in his sense of perspective, sometimes truly extraordinary; however, he seems, most of the time, a little less brilliant in his figures and in the transcription of details. This unsigned canvas...

Antoine-Claude PONTHUS-CINIER (Lyon, 1812 - Lyon, 1885) The Port of Banyuls Oil on paper mounted on cardboard H. 36 cm; W. 52 cm Unsigned Provenance: - B.R. Collection, Lyon Ponthu...