Claude Lorrain

Claude Lorrain was a French painter and draftsman whose grand, Baroque landscapes left a lasting impression on the art world. Lorrain was inspired by older artists like Annibale Carracci, and his contemporary (and friend) Nicolas Poussin. Like these other painters, Lorrain’s works exemplify an ideal landscape: rooted in nature, but heavily beautified. Lorrain spent the majority of his career in Italy, where he came to deeply admire ancient architecture and history. As a result, Italian ruins and toga-clad figures appear in many of his vast landscapes. Lorrain strayed away from depictions of the world’s harsh realities, seeking instead to highlight ideal images of nature and humanity.