Le périple méditerranéen d’Antoine-Laurent Castellan et les tribulations d’une carrière entre littérature et peinture

Abstract

Antoine-Laurent Castellan, a historic landscape painter, takes, between 1796 and 1799, a long journey into the Mediterranean basin, as he joins the mission of engineer Ferregeau, set out to accomplish construction work in the port of Constantinople. The failure of the mission enables the painter to undergo a personal journey, for both study and exploration purposes: it is a journey filled with numerous twists and turns, which will lead to the publication, between, 1808 and 1820, of two travel narratives. As he undergoes this writing and publishing enterprise, Castellan officially gives up painting.