Claude Lorrain. Born in Lorraine, France, Claude Gellée (b.1604? d.1682) is most often known as Le Lorrain or Claude Lorrain(e). He moved to Rome c. 1816 and worked in house of Agostino Tassi (1565-1644) as pastry cook and later became his studio assistant. He travelled to Naples for a two year visit c.1620 and studied with German painter Goffredo Wals. In 1625 he returned to Lorraine, worked with court painter Claude Deuret (1588-1660). In 1627 he settled in Rome. Claude is known as one of the greatest and most influential painters of ideal landscape, his work was highly successful in his own lifetime; the reception of Claude before Modern Painters was characterized by enormous respect for his artistic achievement. The focus of the majority of Claude's paintings was the Roman Campagna and he often used this landscape to frame biblical or mythological narratives. Claude's Liber Veritatis (Book of Truth) contains drawings of the majority of his paintings from 1635-36. Ruskin's view of Claude was highly critical (though Ruskin's early view of Claude was less trenchant) and he believed that Claude's influence on Turner had been overstated. He also believed that Claude's understanding of nature was profoundly flawed.