Le Château de la Duchesse de Berry

Le Château de la Duchesse de Berry from 1824 depicts the residence associated with the Bourbon princess who was a notable patron of the arts during the Restoration. The architectural subject allowed Bonington to combine his skills in landscape and topographic painting. Bonington's technique in watercolor and oil was notably fresh and spontaneous, capturing light and atmosphere with a directness that anticipated the Impressionists; Delacroix called him 'the master of lightness and accuracy.'

The château is rendered with architectural precision set within a luminous landscape, Bonington's fluid handling creating atmospheric depth around the solid forms of the building.