Adam Toepffer (1766-1847), Landscape with figures near a river , 1801, oil on canvas, signed, dated, situated Geneva and inscribed 245 , 103x129 cm Provenance: Jacob Duval (1768-1844), Empress Mother Marie-Fedorovna, acquired directly from the previous provenance, probably in 1805, Russian Imperial Collections, [...], Collection of Alec Chauvet since the 1960s, then remained in the family to this day Bibliography: Lucien Boissonnas, Wolfgang-Adam Töpffer, La bibliothéque des arts, Lausanne, 1996, p. 157, ill. Note: former inventory number of the Imperial Collections, no. 245, on the front. Adam Töpffer (1766-1847) - Landscape with figures near a river , 1801 This rare and precious work by Adam Töpffer bears witness to the refined art of this Genevan master, celebrated for his pastoral scenes imbued with gentle poetry. Signed, dated and located in Geneva in 1801, the canvas combines the monumentality of the central tree with remarkable atmospheric depth. The peasant figures, gathered by a stream, introduce a narrative dimension that gives the landscape a discreet and sensitive humanity. The inscription "245", a former inventory number, bears witness to the fact that this painting was part of the Russian Imperial collections. From the turn of the 19th century, Adam Töpffer had close ties with St Petersburg: Marie Fedorovna, then Empress Mother and widow of Tsar Paul I, bought several of the painter's works through the Duval family, jewellers from Geneva who were close to Töpffer. Among them, Jacob David Duval (1768-1844) occupied a central place. Born in Moscow and his father's successor at the head of the family jewellery business, he was appointed jeweller to the crown with the rank of colonel in civilian life by Tsar Paul I. From St Petersburg until 1803, and then from Geneva where he acquired the Château de Cartigny, Duval was a key link between the imperial court and the distribution of Genevan works in Russia. Kept by the same Swiss family since the 1960s, this large oil on canvas has a prestigious provenance and exceptional pictorial quality. Landscape with figures near a river", as listed in the catalogue raisonné, perfectly embodies the Genevan sensibility of the period, between calm classicism and luminous naturalism.