August Louis Veillon (1834-1890)

"Figures beside Lac Léman"

Oil on canvas, signed

139 x 88 cm.

August Louis Veillon was a notable Swiss landscape painter in oils and watercolour. He was widely travelled and thus in addition to painting stunning views of his native country he also depicted scenes in Holland, France and Italy; he also made wonderful studies of the Orient. Veillon was born in Bex, Switzerland and in 1857 trained under the Geneva artist, François Diday. He then went to Paris, where he studied works in the Louvre, especially those by Claude Lorraine and Ruysdael. He subsequently travelled to Rome and Venice and was in Holland in 1880, 1881 and 1883. In 1773 he ventured to Egypt, where he returned in 1885 after spending the previous year in Tunisia. He also visited Palestine in 1886 and 1888. His latter years were spent in Geneva, where he died in 1890.

Whether he was painting a view of the Nile, of Venice or a Swiss lake, Veillon's landscapes are distinguished by a majestic tranquility and as here, often include still waters. In this scene one can see figures beside the Eastern Shore of Lac Léman with its graceful sailing vessels and the famous Chateau Chillon to the left - all dwarfed by the Le Grammont mountain range beyond. Veillon's oeuvre is widely represented in many major Swiss museums including those in Basel, Berne, Geneva, Glarus, Lausanne, Neuchatel, Solothurn, Winterthur and Zürich.