THEODORE ROUSSEAU (French 1812 - 1867). Evening Landscape, Rocher Besnard in the Forest of Fountainbleau. Oil on board. ...

Description

THEODORE ROUSSEAU (French 1812 - 1867)
Evening Landscape, Rocher Besnard in the Forest of Fountainbleau
Oil on board
13-1/2 x 22-3/4 inches
Label verso, Galeries Georges Petit Exposition de Petits Maitres July 16 - July 13, 1913 #933
Inscribed verso, Un soir au Rocher Besnard Foret de Fontainbleau

PROVENANCE:
Collection of Jerry Malzahn, Coppell, Texas

EXHIBITED:
Galeries Georges Petit Exposition de Petits, 1913

In 1824 the Salon de Paris exhibited the works of John Constable, whose rural scenes influenced Theodore Rousseau, among other young French artists. These artists, members of the so-called Barbizon School, rejected the academic tradition and turned to nature itself for tis inspiration, especially the Forest of Fontainbleau outside Paris.

As is typical of Rousseau's best work, this painting is grave in character with an exquisite air of melancholy. The exact location of the site depicted in the Fontainbleau of this painting by the Besnard Rock in the Forêt of Fontainbleau is even inscribed on the back of the panel: Un soir au Rocher Besnard Forêt de Fontainbleau. Rousseau was particularly devoted to plein air painting. This painting is executed on a wood panel, an ideal support for painting directly from nature.

Rousseau captures the fleeting moments of daylight. The setting sun, the rising moon, and the stag coming out to feed establish nature as the prime force of the universe rather than the bustling energy of modern cities such as Paris.



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