Johann Ludwig Bleuler (1792-1850) Vue De La Ville De Rotterdam - Gouache 19th C.

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Vue De La Ville De Rotterdam, Continental Gouache And Watercolor, 19th Century

This accomplished harbor panorama, inscribed with the French … Read more Vue De La Ville De Rotterdam, Continental Gouache And Watercolor, 19th Century

This accomplished harbor panorama, inscribed with the French title Vue de la ville de Rotterdam, is an original gouache and watercolor depiction of Rotterdam as a bustling river port, composed with a wide, atmospheric sweep that balances animated foreground incident with a carefully observed cityscape beyond. The scene is orchestrated from a low shoreline vantage, where boats are drawn up at the water’s edge and nautical debris and vegetation are described with miniature precision, establishing a tactile sense of place before the eye moves outward to the cool, wind-rippled water populated by working craft, a larger multi-masted ship, and distant sails that punctuate the horizon. Executed with the combined strengths of watercolor’s translucency and gouache’s opacity, the work achieves both luminous sky effects and crisp definition in architectural forms, rigging, and shoreline markers, with opaque touches used to sharpen highlights and reinforce silhouettes where needed. In the far distance, the long run of buildings and landmark structures is set against a hazy, pale blue band of atmosphere, while windmills and spires provide unmistakable Dutch identifiers, lending the composition a topographical character aligned with the 19th-century taste for documentary yet picturesque views of European cities. The lower margin includes the French title and the inscription chez Louis Bleuler à Schafhouse en Suisse, suggesting an association with Louis Bleuler of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, and indicating either a studio attribution, point of distribution, or a reference to a known producer of topographical views whose name was sometimes retained in later artistic translations; given the work’s execution as gouache and watercolor rather than a printed sheet, this example appears to be a hand-rendered interpretation in the manner of Bleuler’s topographical repertoire rather than a mechanically reproduced impression. The painting is preserved under glazing and housed in a substantial dark-stained molded frame with stepped profiles, a presentation that reinforces the work’s period character and provides a strong architectural counterpoint to the open, airy breadth of the harbor.

Measurements: 21.75 in. x 27.5 in. x ** in. x. See less