A Bend in the Dry Durance (Un Bras sur la Durance à sec)

Like nationalism, regionalism is especially relevant to a study of landscape. In French landscape painting of the nineteenth century, for example, there is really no “typical” French landscape because the country’s terrain varies so widely. But in a highly centralized state like France, little notion of regional identity could emerge until republicanism had made significant strides. In his short life, Paul Guigou produced a number of panels such as this one immortalizing the vivid light and arid landscape of his native Provence, in southern France. Even after settling in Paris in 1862 and submitting paintings to the annual Salons, Guigou remained rather isolated from wider artistic developments, and it was only just before his death that he began to gain critical recognition.