Forest of Fontainebleau
Artist: Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña (French, 1808-1876)
Date: 1858
Dimensions:
19 7/8 × 29 in. (50.5 × 73.7 cm)
Medium: oil on wood panel
Place of Origin: France
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Gift of Arthur J. Secor
Object number: 1922.27
Label Text:The Forest of Fontainebleau, southeast of Paris, was a frequent source of inspiration for artist Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña, who painted the subject multiple times throughout his career. A great admirer of Théodore Rousseau (see his Under the Birches, Evening in these galleries), Diaz joined Rousseau as part of the Barbizon school—a loosely associated group of landscape painters based in the village of Barbizon near the Forest of Fontainebleau. Diaz was known for his facility with color and his exploration of light and its effects in nature, proving inspirational for Impressionist artists such as Renoir and Monet.
The composition immerses us in the dense, sun-dappled forest, with a glimpse through the center to blue sky beyond. A seated peasant woman rests under the canopy, seeming almost as much a part of the forest as the rocks and lush foliage. Diaz’s dabs of pure pigment, his heavy application of paint, and his careful use of oil glazes create a lustrous surface.
The composition immerses us in the dense, sun-dappled forest, with a glimpse through the center to blue sky beyond. A seated peasant woman rests under the canopy, seeming almost as much a part of the forest as the rocks and lush foliage. Diaz’s dabs of pure pigment, his heavy application of paint, and his careful use of oil glazes create a lustrous surface.
On view
In Collection(s)