Claude Lorrain Biography - The Life and Works of the Artist

Claude Lorrain was a French landscape artist. He was born in 1600 in a very poor family of a small village called Chamagne. Because of financial problems he was not able to get good schooling and become a pastry cook. When he was 12 years old he lost his parents and then he moved to Rome.

Claude Lorrain took training of landscape painting in Rome from Agostino Tassi, a leading Italian landscapist and painter. Claude Lorrain learned all the basic techniques of landscape art from Tassi . Tassi encouraged Claude to develop a long-lasting interest in landscape painting .  After completing his training from Tassi he left him in 1625 and went back to Lorrain . He worked there for almost a year on the frescoes of Carmelite church under the guidance of Claude Deruet.

In 1626-27 Claude Lorrain returned back to Rome for permanent settlement. Although he was never married but it is believed that he had a daughter Agnese who lived in his house with him. He also joined Sir Luke’s painter’s academy in 1633. Claude Lorrain was not at all interested in public and social events he usually keeps himself busy in his work. Only in the early stage of his career he stay in touch with some artists of northern European because of common origin but after that he became more isolated. His education was not very good but still hi works show some good knowledge of Bible and Ovid’s metamorphosis. Hi got success in a very old age and his works got adequate appreciation at that time. In later stages he became the most sought after landscape artist and a leading painter of Italy.

Liber Veritatis is a book of drawings compiled by Claude Lorrain now kept in British Museum, London. This book contains almost 195 drawings of Claude himself. All the drawings are having particulars written on their back like date, patrons, and place and for whom the picture is destined. It became the valuable record of Claude’s artistic works.

Claude Lorrain had influenced many Dutch painters and English landscape painters of 19th century were also very much impressed by his works. He died in 1682 in Rome.