Simon Denis
Belgian landscape painter active in Italy
Simon-Joseph-Alexandre-Clément Denis was a Belgian painter active primarily in Italy. Denis first studied in his native city of Antwerp, with the landscape and animal painter H.-J. Antonissen. The work of Balthasar Paul Ommeganck also influenced his style. He moved to Paris in the 1780s, and soon gained the patronage of genre painter and art dealer Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Lebrun [fr], whose support allowed him to move to Rome in 1786. His paintings there attracted favorable attention, and in 1787 he married a local woman. He remained close to the Flemish community in Rome, and in 1789 was elected to head the Foundation St.-Julien-des-Flamands. He also developed ties within the French artistic community; Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun stayed with him for some days in 1789 and that same year he and she traveled with François-Guillaume Ménageot to visit Tivoli. François Marius Granet sought his advice when he arrived in Rome in 1802. In 1803, he was elected to the Accademia di San Luca; in 1806 he settled for good in Naples, becoming court painter to Joseph Bonaparte. Denis died in 1813.
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Influenced by
- Balthasar Paul Ommeganck Source
Influenced
Artworks by this artist
- Cloud Study (Distant Storm) ca. 1786[-]1806
- View near Naples c. 1806
- Waterfall at Tivoli 1793
- A View Of Naples From The Portici, The Castel Dell’ovo On The Left 1813
- Italian Landscape
- Cloud Study (Early Evening) ca. 1786[-]1806
- View on the Quirinal Hill, Rome 1800
- Studie från romerska campagnan circa 1800
- In der Neptunsgrotte bei Tivoli 1790
- Mountainous Landscape at Tivoli ca. 1786[-]97
- Mountainous Landscape at Vicovaro ca. 1786[-]97
- Study of Clouds with a Sunset near Rome
- Im Park von Ariccia