(Dijon 1716 – circa 1803 Paris)
A rocky coastal landscape with an elegant company and fishermen; and
Women bathing in a river before classical buildings,
the first signed lower center right: Laleman. f., the second signed lower center right: Lalman,
oil on canvas, 198 x 188 cm and 198 x 186 cm, unframed, a pair (2)

The present works represent ideal views inspired by the Mediterranean landscape and are typical of the oeuvre of Jean-Baptiste Lallemand. One of the paintings is dominated by an imposing classical building with a magisterial staircase that leads down to the banks of a river where a group of women are seen bathing in the foreground. A large fountain in the form of an antique vessel supported by female figures is seen in the middle ground. The other painting depicts a marine landscape characterised by a rocky coastline. In the foreground, a group of elegantly dressed figures approach the seashore where fishermen are pulling in their nets.

The Mediterranean landscape, with its warm light and lyrically evocative idyllic landscapes, was among the preferred themes of the French painter. In the execution of these subjects, the influence of Claude-Joseph Vernet, whom Lallemand met during his Italian sojourn, is particularly apparent. Following his training in Paris where he became a member of the Académie de Saint-Luc, Lallemand moved to Rome in 1747 where he remained until the early 1760s, during which time he also travelled to Naples. Italianate landscape remained part of his repertoire even after his return to France, and he continued to dedicate himself to such pictorial themes ranging from capricci and ideal landscapes, to realistic views of Rome and Naples. Lallemand also depicted French landscapes. He supplied drawings for the Description générale et particulière de la France (or Voyage pittoresque de la France), published between 1781 and 1796, and he collaborated on the drawings for printed publications of the repertories of artists such as Watteau and Greuze.