Pierre Antoine Mongin

Pierre Mongin, a painter of landscapes and genre scenes, left a quite extensive oeuvre of oil paintings and gouaches. A participant in the early campaigns of the French Revolution, he initially distinguished himself as a military painter. He subsequently turned his attention to landscape and genre painting and also made a small number of lithographs. This particular one comes from the eight-print series entitled “Cours complet d’études du dessin”, which was issued by the well-known Paris publisher G. Engelmann in 1816. The sturdy, weathered oak trunks are rendered in a drawing style which is no less robust and gives the print a quite impressive presence. The bare branches and the foliage stand out like arabesques against the sky, which has been left white and so creates a pleasing, decorative effect. A very fine, even and contrasting impression with margins. Minor ageing, otherwise in excellent condition.