View of the Ponte Rocco, Tivoli

Bidauld first traveled to Italy in 1785 and was encouraged by the marine painter and landscapist Claude-Joseph Vernet to paint en plein air, completing sketches outdoors that could later be worked up into finished paintings. These Italian drawings would serve as the basis for the artist’s paintings even after he returned to France in 1790, and the present painting, dated 1812, is emblematic of the Italian views which made him so famous.

Tivoli was a popular destination for artists traveling through Italy. Bidauld’s elegant composition from the bottom of the falls, looking up at the Ponte Rocco, exhibits his impressive sense of light. The bridge is seen in shadow, but the warm Italian sunlight hits the waterfall, trees, and hilltop village beyond, coming from the far left, toward the viewer. The figures on the ledge below are also admiring the bridge, with their backs to the viewer. An artist is seen sketching alongside his dog.