Jean-Joseph-Xavier BIDAULD (Carpentras, 1758 - Montmorency, 1846) Presumed view of the bas de Meudon Oil on spun walnut panel Signed 'J. Bidauld' lower left No frame Presumed view of Meudon, oil on walnut panel, signed, by J.-J. X. Bidauld 9.25 x 12.79 in. 23.5 x 32.5 cm Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld's painting is much more than a simple landscape. It gives us a glimpse of what life might have been like in a small town at the end of the 18th century, in the manner of the Breughel painters who depicted village life in Flanders two centuries earlier. In this case, it was most likely from the lower part of Meudon that our artist captured the scene. This area, which Bidauld and his artist contemporaries loved to explore with their brushes, offered a popular vantage point from which to observe the relief of the Paris basin. On the right, we can clearly make out a small bourgeois family in its cloister, the women playing with a young child and the man reading a letter while a chambermaid busies herself at the window of the charming stone building. Meanwhile, everyday life in the streets is in full swing: a workman repairs a wall, a shepherd moves his flock of sheep and a woman throws an object from her window to another woman below, who is about to receive it in her garment. This episode of 'lives' is sublimated by our artist, whose talent for capturing the skies, rendering the effects of the sun's rays striking the façades and the treatment of materials is unrivalled and particularly virtuoso here, making our panel a small masterpiece. The price includes VAT. VAT at the reduced rate of 5.5% applies to the hammer price and the sales commission. This VAT is recoverable for French professionals. It is refundable for a buyer from outside the EU on presentation of proof of export from the EU or for a professional buyer providing proof of an intra-Community VAT number and a document proving delivery in the Member State. The hammer price will be VAT included. 5.5% VAT will be added to the hammer price and buyer's premium. Upon request, this VAT can be refunded to the purchaser on presentation of written proof of exportation outside the EU or to the EU purchaser who will submit his intracommunity VAT number and a proof of shipment of his purchase to his EU country home address. Jean-Joseph-Xavier BIDAULD (Carpentras, 1758 - Montmorency, 1846) 23.5 x 32.5 cm