Reviewed: ‘Pierre Jacques Volaire (1729-1799)’
Recently added to The Art Tribune:
Emilie Beck Saiello, Pierre Jacques Volaire (1729-1799), dit le Chevalier Volaire (Paris: Arthena, 2010), 486 pages, ISBN: 9782903239435, 119€ / $175.
Reviewed by Bénédicte Bonnet Saint-Georges; posted 31 October 2011.
He does not lie in the pantheon of great artists and his work does not fall under the genre of grand painting; some would even say that his art is repetitive, a succession of views of Mount Vesuvius meant to sell briskly as souvenirs of the Grand Tour. Emilie Beck Saiello has nevertheless set out to reinstate the artistic legacy of Pierre Jacques Volaire, known as the Chevalier Volaire, by publishing the catalogue raisonné of his works at Arthena Ed. She explains that ‘art history is not made up of only great masters just as history is not made up only of great men and the study of a successful or “commercial” artist might lead us to discover how his work reflected the taste, culture and aesthetics of a certain period and was able to express a moment, a place and a society.’ . . .
The full review is available here»
Enfilade 
For what it’s worth, I love this guy’s paintings, even if they are commercial. What does that mean, anyway? Certainly the “Great Men” were also concerned with making a good income. And their very repetitiveness suggests insight into 18C mentalities. If they didn’t speak to people, they wouldn’t have sold.
The North Carolina Museum of Art owns a large Volaire, of Vesuvius erupting as residents of nearby towns flee in terror, and, well, I couldn’t adore it more.
http://collection.ncartmuseum.org/collection11/view/objects/asitem/People$004097/0
Thanks, Michael, for the link. The ‘commercial’ accusation struck me as strange, too. -CH