J. F. Roux
Roux thought that the act of artistic creation resides in the decisions that the artist makes about what to leave out from the represented world, so that a painting is the product of the artist’s considered choices about what forms and colours to emphasise. There are some early paintings at Langebaan of fishing boats and later, from a trip with Margot to Sicily, of dwellings. Roux was also commissioned on occasion to paint pictures of farm houses. But on the whole, his landscapes represent nature in all its timelessness, stripped of any trace of human intervention.
Roux family (marine painters)
Joseph Roux was born in 1725 in Marseille, France to Joseph Roux, who worked as a hydrographer, and Magdaleine Senequier. He took over the family business and became a hydrographer like his father, “in the course of which he published, manufactured, and sold a wide assortment of charts, navigating instruments, and related nautical gear.” It was probably around the mid-18th century when Joseph earned the title of “Hydrographe du Roi” meaning Hydrographer to the King. In 1764, Joseph published a folio of twelve Mediterranean charts which were used for a number of years after their publication. Copies were even used on HMS "Victory" in 1803 and 1805, as well as on HMS "Shannon". Joseph was also known to paint, though not as frequently as his son or grandchildren. Two such works, oil paintings titled "Bonhomme Richard vs Serapis" and "Naval Engagement between a British East Indiaman and a French Warship", exist at the Peabody Essex Museum and showcase Joseph’s skill as a painter. Joseph died in 1793 in Marseille.
Ange-Joseph Antoine Roux, who went by “Antoine Roux”, was born March 5, 1765 in Marseille, France to Joseph Roux and Marie-Ursule Demoline. He grew up in his father’s hydrographic shop where he most likely picked up a great deal of nautical knowledge. The earliest known work by Antoine is a sketch from 1787, signed and dated, showing pieces of a man-of-war. Later sketchbooks are in the collection at the Peabody Essex Museum. Antoine became famous for his ship portraits and shipowners and captains were eager to entrust him with the task of creating paintings for their ships. He became very popular for the accuracy in his ship portraits and the way he made them seem alive.