CLAUDE LORRAIN

born 1600, Chamagne, Fr. died Nov. 23, 1682, Rome byname of Claude Gelle French artist best known for, and one of the greatest masters of, ideal-landscape painting, an art form that seeks to present a view of nature more beautiful and harmonious than nature itself. The quality of that beauty is governed by classical concepts, and the landscape often contains classical ruins and pastoral figures in classical dress. The source of inspiration is the countryside around Romethe Roman Campagnaa countryside haunted with remains and associations of antiquity. The practitioners of ideal landscape during the 17th century, the key period of its development, were artists of many nationalities congregated in Rome. Later, the form spread to other countries. Claude, whose special contribution was the poetic rendering of light, was particularly influential, not only during his lifetime but, especially in England, from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century. Additional reading Marcel Rthlisberger, Claude Lorrain: The Paintings, 2 vol. (1961, reprinted 1979), and Claude Lorrain: The Drawings, 2 vol. (1968), two fully illustrated, complete catalogs, with introductions and notes, are the standard works. They include in English translation all the early material on the artist, including several early biographies. Only the etchings are not adequately covered by Rthlisberger; for these see Lino Mannocci, The Etchings of Claude Lorrain (1988). Other recent works include Marco Chiarini (ed.), Claude Lorrain: Selected Drawings (1968), with superb plates; Michael Kitson, The Art of Claude Lorrain (1969), an exhibition catalog, and Claude Lorrain, Liber veritatis (1978), a study of the sketchbook; H. Diane Russell, Claude Lorrain, 16001682 (1982), an exhibition catalog including extensive scholarly essays; and Helen Langdon, Claude Lorrain (1989), a synthesis of recent research on the artist.