Lot 242: Jacques Raymond Brascassat (French, 1804-1867) A goatherder and his flock in an Italianate landscape, possibly Faleria 38 x 47cm (14 15/16 x 18 1/2in).

A goatherder and his flock in an Italianate landscape, possibly Faleria
signed, inscribed and dated 'Brascassat/Rome 1829' (lower right)
oil on canvas
38 x 47cm (14 15/16 x 18 1/2in).

Jacques Raymond Brascassat was born in Bordeaux in August 1804. After studying in his home town, Brascassat attended L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, becoming a pupil of Louis Hersent (1777-1860).

A special award from King Charles X enabled him then to travel to Italy where he stayed from 1826-1829. Here he painted a number of landscapes and mythological works which he sent back to Paris. Two of the landscapes were exhibited at the Salon of 1827 and were awarded a second class medal.

On his return to France, Brascassat continued to produce landscapes and historical subjects, before turning almost exclusively to animal painting. Critical acclaim followed in the early 1830s and 1840s, until his style became eclipsed by artists such as Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899) and Constant Troyon (1810-1865) whose realism heralded a new approach to animal painting.