Inspired by masters of the Dutch golden age and by Romantic art from England, the landscape painters of France’s Barbizon school opposed academic tradition by advocating plein air painting and naturalism in art. The painters concentrated on natural scenes and life in rural France and showed concern for environmental preservation. Their attention to changing light and atmospheric conditions inspired the development of Impressionism.
During the early nineteenth century, the French art establishment was governed to a large extent by classical doctrine founded on the principles of order, clarity, and harmony. Institutions such as the École des Beaux-Arts (school of art) and its state-sponsored salons showed a marked preference for heroic themes laden with historical, religious, or mythological symbolism. The Italianate style of landscape painting, with its stock ruins and Arcadian vistas, had become a standard feature in academic art, but it relied less on the direct observation of nature than on mastery of idealized space and composition.
Leading teachers and critics of academic art generally advocated some direct study of nature in the early stages of composition, mainly through sketches or preliminary studies; however, it was still generally expected that the major portion of an artist’s work be conducted in a studio. The practice of outdoor painting called plein air painting was not yet common. Only later did the introduction of oil-based paint in tubes and lighter equipment, portable easels in particular, allow artists to wander the countryside more freely in search of inspiration. The creation of a Prix de Rome for landscape painting in 1817 ultimately led to a greater appreciation for the genre and provided an incentive for young artists to develop their skills in the study of nature.
During the 1820’s and 1830’s, as Romanticism
The now-famous Auberge Ganne
The leading members of the Barbizon school were Théodore Rousseau, Jules Dupré
During the 1850’s and 1860’s, at the height of Rousseau’s popularity, his radical naturalism found expression in rapid brushwork, rough textures, and subdued colors. His paintings, many of them now preserved in major museums
Felled trees are common in the work of Jules Dupré and Constant Troyon. Both artists had become acquainted with Rousseau during the early 1830’s and later accompanied him to remote sites to paint. Dupré’s Landscape with Cattle of 1837, featuring a severed trunk in its central foreground, illustrates the artist’s dismay at the destruction of trees. Like other Barbizon painters, Dupré and Troyon were profoundly influenced by Dutch Baroque art, which had gained popularity among liberals for its egalitarian spirit. After a trip to the Netherlands and Belgium in 1847, where he admired paintings by Albert Cuyp
It appears that Charles-François Daubigny did not spend a substantial amount of time in Barbizon, but nonetheless he made trips with Rousseau and Dupré to Valmondois and L’Îsle-Adam, which are north of Paris, in 1846. River landscapes became a dominant feature in his art. In 1857, he set up a studio and living quarters on a boat so that he could devote himself to plein air painting along the Seine, Marne, and Oise Rivers. His Evening on the Oise (1863) and On the Banks of the Oise (1864) are typical of his style.
Narcisse-Virgile Diaz
Jean-François Millet moved to Barbizon in 1849, as did Charles Jacque
Despite its nostalgic appeal, the term “Barbizon school” remains a problematic one for art historians. Not all artists associated with the school were primarily landscape painters, and personal styles varied considerably. All of these artists, however, were affected by the urban-industrial revolution that was transforming not only the French landscape but also French society. The Barbizon circle of artists, sensing the dangers of unbridled progress, intuitively looked to the heartland of rural France for social, moral, and artistic sustenance. The stolid peasant figures, for example, that populate Millet’s art are pendants to the massive oaks and solitary pines common in paintings by Rousseau and Dupré.
After the Paris Revolution of 1848, the Barbizon painters set the tone in French landscape painting. Art collectors in the United States were particularly eager to purchase their paintings, and this sometimes led to bidding wars between French and American buyers. One of the founders of the Rhode Island School of Design,
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Adams, Steven. The Barbizon School and the Origins of Impressionism. London: Phaidon Press, 1994. Presents the evolution of French landscape painting from the neoclassical era to late nineteenth century Impressionism. Discusses to what extent the Barbizon painters influenced the Impressionist movement. Includes numerous full-color prints. -
Bouret, Jean. The Barbizon School and Nineteenth Century French Landscape Painting. Greenwich, Conn.: New York Graphic Society, 1983. Examines the lives and careers of eight leading Barbizon painters. A good source of anecdotal information. -
Burmester, Andreas, Christoph Heilman, and Michael Zimmermann, eds. Barbizon: Malerei der Natur Nature der Malerei. Munich, Germany: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1999. An important collection of articles on the Barbizon school of painters. Texts in English, French, and German. -
Herbert, Robert L. Barbizon Revisited: Essay and Catalogue. New York: Clarke and Way, 1962. A critical survey of Barbizon landscape painting from the 1820’s to the late 1870’s. Includes monochrome and color reproductions. -
Sillevis, John, and Hans Kraan, eds. The Barbizon School. The Hague, Netherlands: Haags Gemeentemuseum, 1985. A collection of thirteen articles, with special emphasis on Dutch and Flemish influences. -
Thomas, Greg M. Art and Ecology in Nineteenth-Century France. The Landscapes of Théodore Rousseau. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2000. Examines the importance of ecological themes in Rousseau’s art, and uncovers similar themes in the art of Dupré, Diaz de la Peña, Jacque, and Millet.
Emergence of the Primitives
Paris Salon of 1824
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Begins
Courbet Establishes Realist Art Movement
First Impressionist Exhibition
Post-Impressionist Movement Begins
Gustave Courbet; Paul Gauguin; Pierre-Auguste Renoir.