The Waterfalls at Tivoli1737 · Study 1984.175

Context from the museum

Likely Vernet's first major work during his study in Rome, this landscape demonstrates his signature style. Vernet preferred and is remembered for marine subjects and water is also a central theme in this painting. Vernet became the predominant French landscape painter of the 18th century, contributing to a long French tradition. While in Rome, he absorbed the Italian tradition of dramatic, rugged landscape paintings, established by Salvador Rosa in the 1600s. This influence is reflected in Vernet's presentation of the craggy rock formations and cascades that made Tivoli, a small town twenty miles east of Rome, famous. Vernet here synthesizes this style with the calmer pastoral mode, more typical of the French landscape tradition, with its roots in the work of Claude Lorrain. Vernet generally inserted elements of humanity in his work, here evident in the touches of civilization in the background and the fishermen in the foreground. Vernet enjoyed considerable popularity, evidenced by the fact that Napoleon's brother Lucien Bonaparte held this painting as a part of his impressive collection.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected unframed measurement for The Waterfalls at Tivoli is 172.6 cm wide and 123.2 cm high, equivalent to approximately 68.0 × 48.5 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 1.40:1. The rectangular bounding area is 2.13 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 57.5% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 63.7 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With The Waterfalls at Tivoli in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, oil on canvas, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 172.6 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?