Lot 359: Louis Bélanger (Paris 1736-1816 Stockholm)

Louis Bélanger (Paris 1736-1816 Stockholm)
A bridge over the Roaring River, Saint Thomas's Parish, Jamaica
signed, inscribed and dated 'Louis Belanger Le T[...] 1794'
pen and black ink, bodycolour, pastel, over etched outlines [?], on paper laid down on panel
19 1/8 x 27 in. (48.7 x 68.6 cm.)

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Bélanger's Jamaican subjects appear to be taken from George Robertson's six views of William Beckford's estates in Jamaica, published by Boydell in 1778. Some, such as the present picture, may be coloured over Robertson's printed bases. For other versions of this subject by Bélanger, see Sotheby's, London, 10 February 1982, lot 232, and 24 May 1988, lot 151, and Merigot's engraving, published in 1800 by Colnaghi, Sala & Co.

Born in France, Bélanger travelled extensively in Europe and is known primarily for his work on the Continent. He exhibited at the Royal Academy in the 1790s (as painter to the Duke of Orleans) and was appointed painter to the Swedish court in Stockholm in 1798, where he remained until his death in 1816.

For another version, see Christie's, South Kensington, Travel and Natural History, 20 April 2005, lot 105.