A huge area of ancient mixed deciduous woodland south-east of Paris. Centre of the Barbizon School and an early playground for the French Impressionists who followed.
Corot
Orpheus’ attempt to take his bride Eurydice back to life from the underworld fails when he looks back at her. He is later torn limb from limb by Bacchantes, and rejoins her.
Revived in the 19th century, stories painted by JMW Turner, Camille Corot, Edward Burne-Jones, Ford Madox Brown, Lovis Corinth, Aksel Johannessen and Thomas Hart Benton.
Taught by Corot, he became an almost compulsive painter of trees and a central figure among the French Impressionists. He later became Pointillist, peaking in 1891, but ceased painting outdoors in his final years.
Early works followed Constable or his teacher Michallon, and excelled in anatomy. His trees became more gestural, with daubs and marks as he led the start of Impressionism.
Paintings of pre-Impressionist landscapes by Johan Jongkind, Camille Corot, Charles Daubigny, Eugène Boudin, and the young Claude Monet.
You have a brief window of 30-60 minutes to capture the lighting, shade and shadows, when you’re lucky. How practice and skill overcame one of the great challenges.
Coppice stools, cut to just above ground level, and pollards cut high enough to stop them from being damaged by cattle, were commonly used to produce supplies of timber.
Humans have lived with trees since our origins, and trees feature in many paintings. This explains the importance of sketching them from life, and shows examples of different species and contrasting artists from Rubens and van Ruisdael to van Gogh and Cézanne.
Is it feasible to paint optically accurate reflections quickly in front of the motif? Examples from CamilleCorot, Claude Monet and Alfred Sisley demonstrate that it is.
