Coucher de soleil, 1850-60
Oil on cradled panel
10 3/4 x 18 1/8 inches
Cloud Study over the Barbizon Plain, c. 1855
Oil on panel
8 1/2 x 11 7/8 inches
Sunset on the Plain of Chailly, Fontainebleau
Pastel on paper on panel
6 x 8 1/4 inches
Path at the Edge of the Forest, c. 1850-55
Oil on panel
10 5/8 x 16 1/8 inches
Mare parmi les bruyères, c. 1862
Pen and ink with wash on paper
4 5/8 x 6 inches
Houses Under the Trees, c. 1860-62
Pen and brown ink on paper
5 1/4 x 8 1/4 inches
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.
