Running Stream at San Cosimato

Bidauld earned a place among the pioneers of openair painting with a five-year stint working in the hidden corners of the Italian countryside during the 1780s. Rivers and streams offered an opportunity to study the contrast between the rough-edged rocks lining riverbeds and those worn smooth by centuries of running waters. These subjects posed a favorite challenge: capturing the constant motion of powerfully churning rapids and delicately swirling eddies. Here, Bidauld loaded a fine brush with white paint to convey the froth of the teeming waters, lending unexpected texture to an otherwise highly finished surface.