Gustave Eugène Castan proved exceptional artistic talent even at a young age. His high-quality study sheets attracted the attention of Alexandre Calame, in the studio he worked in 1843-1848. In 1845, Calame went on a trip to Rome with his pupils, but without lasting effect on Castan. More than the sites of classical art fascinated him the homelandous mountain landscape, which during these years he drew numerous on the canvas.

In the winter of 1848/49, Castan traveled to Paris for the first time. From then on, he repeatedly moved to France, where, under the influence of the young French landscape painting, he abandoned the motifs of the Alps in favor of flat forest and river regions. Castan's high reputation in France was found...