Gezicht op la Roche-Guyon 1775 - 1833

Jean Bernard made this wash drawing of La Roche-Guyon, a commune in north-central France. We see a cluster of figures on a town street, a church, some houses, and, perched high above, the town’s château. Drawings like these are important historical documents. Bernard lived through both the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era, periods in which there was a new emphasis on the nation and its geography. Artists were mobilized to map and depict French territory, often to promote national pride, or for strategic military purposes. Here the artist is emphasizing the imposing architecture, especially the defensive castle. Yet we also see ordinary people in the foreground. Does the image portray the resilience of the French people? Or does it celebrate the hierarchies of the ruling class? These are the kinds of questions that art historians explore, using sources such as letters, newspapers, and government documents to better understand an artwork’s place in its own time. In doing so, we discover the complex social life of art.