Geneva, seen from Pregny

This majestic view from the north side of Lake Geneva ranges from the Mont Blanc massif in the left distance to the city of Geneva to the far right, at the end of the lake, dominated by the Cathedral of St Pierre.

It was Jean Dubois’ practice to paint in remarkable detail over monochrome prints made after his own images, in this case an aquatint by Emile Salathé. In this he employed his abilities as a miniaturist painter to depict details that can barely be seen by the naked eye, as can just about be seen in some of the details of this work in the attached images.

The high quality of the present work, characteristically outlined in black, would indicate that this is an example of this practice. In doing so, Dubois has beautifully captured the effects of raking late afternoon sunlight and lengthening shadows over Lake Geneva. While in the left foreground we see a  rustic worker, in the centre two top hatted gentleman walk, enjoying the scenery, echoing the Romantic sensibility that we see in other central European art of the period, including the landscapes of Casper David Friedrich.