The Romantic Movement In France

(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:

Though much influenced by Corot, who regarded him almost as a son, Charles Francois Daubigny (1817-78) evolved another distinct type of landscape and excelled in his poetic renderings of placid river scenes. His father was a journeyman painter of mediocre ability, and as a boy Daubigny painted decorations on clock-cases, glove-boxes, fans, and other articles of luxury. When he was seventeen he and a friend save up a little over fifty pounds with which they set out on foot for Italy, and there maintained themselves for nearly a year. Returning to Paris, Daubigny gave himself for a time to figure subjects, but about 1840 he turned definitely to landscape, which he discovered to be his true vocation. His favorite sketching-ground was near Valmondois on the Oise, where he had spent happy days in his childhood. Though his landscapes were exhibited regularly in the Salon from 1841 to 1847, Daubigny had a hard struggle during these years, but in 1848 he received a second medal for his five landscapes in the Salon, and thereafter the State began to buy his pictures for provincial museums and his sales generally improved.

‘On the Banks of the Oise’ is a beautiful and characteristic example of the art of Daubigny, and reveals that exquisite calm and repose which is a feature of many of his paintings, though occasionally he painted stormy scenes; for Daubigny was not limited in his subjects, but painted various aspects of Nature. He was one of the pioneers in the truer rendering of Nature’s own coloring, and his famous saying, ‘We never paint light enough,’ became a watchword to the younger generation of artists.

The Romantic Movement In France (continued)