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Little-known Swiss painter with broad horizon

The Basel Art Museum (Kunstmuseum Basel) has devoted a major exhibition to the almost forgotten Basel painter Jakob Christoph Miville (1786-1836).

Mivillle painted mainly landscapes. But he did not restrict himself to the peaks, valleys and waterfalls of the Swiss Alps. He also went to Italy, where he learned to draw from nature.

Failing to find success as an artist, in 1809 he went to Russia to seek his fortune. He found work as a surveyor and teacher of drawing, and travelled through northern Russia, the Caucasus and the Crimea. He produced countless drawings and watercolours during his journeys through the Russian countryside.

Miville spent his whole life trying to win recognition as a painter.The Basel exhibition features about 250 of his works. It is the first time that his drawings and paintings have been brought together from both Swiss and Russian collections.

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