Lake Fucino and the Abruzzi Mountains  1789

When Bidauld painted this sketch, Lake Fucino was the largest body of water in the Abruzzi region of central Italy. (It was later drained.) Bidauld’s fastidious approach to working out of doors rivals the Salon pictures he executed in his studio. A colleague of the artist recounted: "Each day he painted or drew on the spot, always in a different place, learning to make stu...