
Theodore Rousseau (French 1812-1867) was one of the giants of 19c French landscape painting and the leader of the Barbizon School, a group of artists, including Jean-François Millet and Jean-Baptist Camille Corot, who shared artistic ideals of emotion and spontaneity and emphasized working directly from nature. In response to the values of the conservative French Academy, Rousseau preferred to work in a loose brush stroke to portray the wild, untamed nature and the intense weather conditions, colorful sky, and vivid lighting effects he observed. His pioneering views and determination to paint outdoors in extraordinary range of styles and techniques, left a lasting influence on the Impressionists.