Ref: 2659
Rich Figure Staffage with Horses and Dogs before a Roman Forge
Jean-Louis Demarne
Ref: 2659
Rich Figure Staffage with Horses and Dogs before a Roman Forge
Jean-Louis Demarne
Oil on wood
32.2 x 39.5 cm (12⁵/₈ x 15¹/₂ inches)
32.2 x 39.5 cm (12⁵/₈ x 15¹/₂ inches)
Description: Attributed to: Jean-Louis Demarne (Brussels 1752–1829)
Oil on walnut panel
Golden frame
Old auction label on the reverse
In this Roman street scene, a variety of scenes are taking place in front of a blacksmith's shop. On the left, a group of children are playing with a dog, while behind them a sales conversation between a blacksmith and a married couple seems to be taking place. To their right, a new horseshoe is being nailed to the hind leg of a horse. The blacksmith's employees are being watched by a Roman soldier who is meticulously observing their work.
This scene of everyday life shows the bustling life of the Roman metropolis in a compact and multi-figured way. The painter understood how to capture the momentum of the individual scenes and create an evening light atmosphere that skilfully reflects the warmth of the south.
Oil on walnut panel
Golden frame
Old auction label on the reverse
In this Roman street scene, a variety of scenes are taking place in front of a blacksmith's shop. On the left, a group of children are playing with a dog, while behind them a sales conversation between a blacksmith and a married couple seems to be taking place. To their right, a new horseshoe is being nailed to the hind leg of a horse. The blacksmith's employees are being watched by a Roman soldier who is meticulously observing their work.
This scene of everyday life shows the bustling life of the Roman metropolis in a compact and multi-figured way. The painter understood how to capture the momentum of the individual scenes and create an evening light atmosphere that skilfully reflects the warmth of the south.
Jean-Louis Demarne
Jean-Louis Demarne, or de Marne (1752–1829), was a Brussels-born French painter of landscapes, rural genre scenes and bustling everyday life. After moving to Paris as a child, he trained with Gabriel Briard and first pursued history painting before turning toward the more intimate world of villages, roads, fairs, markets and pastoral labour. Strongly indebted to seventeenth-century Dutch masters such as Aelbert Cuyp, he used warm light, low horizons and anecdotal detail to make ordinary scenes feel picturesque and humane. Demarne exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon and achieved favour with collectors during the Empire and Restoration. His paintings often combine small figures, animals, wagons and modest architecture within broad landscapes, creating a charming bridge between Rococo genre, Dutch realism and early Romantic feeling. Rather than heroic drama, he offered a theatre of daily movement, weather, social exchange and rural memory.
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Rich Figure Staffage with Horses and Dogs before a Roman Forge