Aux sources du portrait de pays

Abstract

We wish to examine here the meaning of certain choices made by Taylor and Nodier in their Voyages pittoresques et romantiques dans l’ancienne France from the point of vue of the “portrait of a countryside”: wish to show the remains of a disappearing France; anchoring in a genre which appeared at the end of the previous century; refusal to adopt the division into departments inherited from the Revolution on behalf of the provinces of the Old Regime; attention paid to natural and intangible heritage; concern to present monuments from different points of vue; integration into the project of the most recent dissemination channels of image. This is based on the collection of the Voyages pittoresques et romantiques published between 1820 and 1878 and on the archives kept at the Taylor Foundation.

Keywords

• portrait of a countryside
• picturesque voyage
• graphic illustrations
• Taylor (Isidore)
• Nodier (Charles)