View of Saint-Cloud, Near the Seine

About the Artwork

This painting depicts the park associated with the royal Chateau of Saint-Cloud, famous for its terraced gardens overlooking the River Seine. At the left of the scene, one of the park's gazebos is set among the trees. This view from Saint-Cloud over the river was a traditional and popular one. Very little is known about the life of Pau de Saint-Martin. Most of his surviving works are landscapes, the titles of which indicate he painted in the Forest of Fontainebleau, southeast of Paris, as early as 1795. Perhaps the artist is most important as the teacher of his nephew Theodore Rousseau (1812–1867), who became the founder of the Barbizon school of landscape painting.

Inscriptions

Signed lower right: AP St. Martin 1809 [AP in monogram]

Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1977. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1977-January 22, 1978).

Quick Overview

Artist: Alexandre Pau de St. Martin (French)
Date: 1809
Medium: oil on fabric
Dimensions: Unframed: 43.9 x 67.6 cm (17 5/16 x 26 5/8 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin
Accession no.: 1977.121

Provenance

Clifford Duits, London 1967-68. Schaeffer Galleries, Inc., New York, 1973. Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin, Cleveland. Given to the CMA on 20 October 1977.

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.