1827 -1877 · France, Egypt, Orientalism and naturalistic landscape

Light of the Nile, outdoor observation and calm monumentality distinguish Léon Belly among the great French orientalist landscapers.

Léon Adolphe Auguste Belly was born in Saint-Omer in 1827. Trained in Paris with François-Édouard Picot and Constant Troyon, he also discovered Barbizon and the painting of Théodore Rousseau. This dual culture - academic construction and direct observation of nature - marked all his work. In 1850, Belly accompanied a mission to Greece, Syria and Egypt. He drew landscapes, sites and populations with precise attention, then exhibited at the Salon in 1853 views of Nablus, Beirut and the Dead Sea. He drew landscapes, sites and populations with precise attention, then exhibited at the Salon in 1853 views of Nablus, Beirut and the Dead Sea. He drew landscapes, sites and populations with precise attention, then exhibited at the Salon in 1853 views of Nablus, Beirut and the Dead Sea. He drew landscapes, sites and populations with precise attention, then exhibited at the Salon in 1853 views of Nablus, Beirut and the Dead Sea. He drew landscapes, sites and populations with precise attention, then exhibited at the Salon in 1853 views of Nablus, Beirut and the Dead Sea. He drew landscapes, sites and populations with precise attention, then exhibited at the Salon in 1853 views of Nablus presented in 1861, brought him recognition. Unlike a fancy orientalism, Belly seeks the coherence of light, terrain and attitudes. The Banks of the Nile shows this quality: women, the river and the landscape are not juxtaposed, but united in the same luminous breathing. At the same time, he continues to paint Normandy and Sologne, revealing that his real subject remains the lived landscape. At the same time, he continues to paint Normandy and Sologne, revealing that his real subject remains the lived landscape. At the same time, he continues to paint Normandy and Sologne, revealing that his real subject remains the lived landscape. At the same time, he continues to paint Normandy and Sologne, revealing that his real subject remains the lived landscape. At the same time, he continues to paint Normandy and Sologne, revealing that his real subject remains the lived landscape. At the same time, he continues to paint Normandy and Sologne, revealing that his real subject remains the lived landscape. At the same time, he continues to paint Normandy and Sologne, revealing that his real subject remains the lived landscape. The "Léon Belly" selection notably compares Les Bords du Nil. His reading favors the story.

Belly looks at the Orient like a landscaper: light connects figures, the river and dust in a single atmosphere.