Oil painting, 'Saint-Jeoire, Savoy', attributed to Jean-Philippe George-Julliard, Swiss school, ca. 1845-1868

A torrent in valley flowing in small river flanked by rocks and trees; two small figures on a big rock on the left hand-side, distant mountains vanishing in a pale blue sunlight in the background.

Bequeathed by Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend

Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend, listed in the 1868 post-mortem register of the contents of his villa in Lausanne (V&A R/F MA/1/T1181) as 'Oil on millboard. St Joire, Savoy. By H. P. Georges. In frame. Signed with initials. Swiss. Present century'; bequeathed by Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend, 1868.

Historical significance: Like his master A. Calame, Julliard used the scenery of the Alps and other mountains to convey the grandiose forces of nature through the depiction of stormy summits and torrents as well as calm and serene lake scenes. This aesthetic is not far from that of the Romantic movement and its use of nature as a mirror of the human and divine mind. The small figures in the foreground, perched on the top of rock are representative of such conception of an overwhelming and omnipotent nature against human fragility.
This painting was bequeathed by the Rev. Townshend who owned a large collection of 19th-century landscape paintings. It is not unlikely that Townshend, who resided part of the year in Lausanne, acquired this painting directly from the artist.

Jean-Philippe George-Julliard (1818-1888) was born in Geneva of French parents. He first studied in Nantes under the supervision of F. Donné and subsequently in Geneva under A. Calame (1810-1864), with whom he worked on some of Calame's major compositions. He was a founder member of the Geneva Artists' Circle and of the 'Brunswick'. He exhibited at Geneva between 1845 and 1886 and mainly produced views of the Alps, Savoy and Bern.

This painting depicts a view of Saint-Jeoire in Savoy, near the Lake Geneva. This painting is characteristic of George-Julliard's style, close to Calame's technique and high degree of finish. The depiction of the grandiose scenery of the Alps enlivened by torrents and very small figures in the middle distance is recurrent in Julliard's oeuvre. This painting is a good example of mountainous landscape painting which developed in Switzerland in the 19th century.

1603-1869