# Landscape Near Paris

**Georges Michel** (French, 1763–1843)  
c. 1840  
oil on fabric  
Framed: 105.6 x 146.4 x 9.6 cm (41 9/16 x 57 5/8 x 3 3/4 in.); Unframed: 88.8 x 129.5 cm (34 15/16 x 51 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975.78. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.78).

## About this work

The location of this scene, probably near Paris, has not been identified with certainty. Unlike most painters of this time, Michel never traveled to Italy and focused only on depicting locations in France. Michel was always interested in Dutch art, however, and was nicknamed the "French Ruisdael"-a reference to the 17th-century Dutch landscape painter Jacob van Ruisdael (1628-1682). After about 1808, Michel explored personal interpretations of landscape, focusing on light, sky, and space. The brooding, vaguely threatening atmosphere in this painting embodies the Romantic notion that human beings are insignificant relative to the larger forces of nature.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Georges Michel painted this in about 1840, aged about 72. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Georges Michel](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/georges-michel)

French, 1763–1843

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: France, 19th century
- The artist was about 72
- Real size: about 35 × 51 in (89 × 130 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 18 × 24 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 19th century
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/693.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/693/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/landscape-near-paris-cma-148365).