The Barbizon School

One of my favorite schools of painters is that which formed in the 1830s. They are called the Barbizon School, having originated in the town of Barbizon, located in the forest of Fontainebleau. The town is charming – the sort of place where the eye would never want for beauty. It doesn't surprise me in the least that it was the cradle of the Barbizon painters' intriguing style: It's the perfect setting for the cultivation of artistic inspiration.

The Barbizon School was led by a handful of reasonably well-known artists; Corot, Daubigny,

Millet, and Rousseau. Also involved in the group were Diaz, Dupré, Harpignies, and Troyon,

among other obscure artists. I hope to later give many of these artists their own articles, but for now, I'll just focus on the general characteristics of the Barbizon School.

The impetus behind the group was a notion to paint directly from nature, rather than to paint idyllic scenes, in which the eccentricities and "imperfections" of the real world are carefully filtered out. The Barbizon artists almost exclusively painted natural scenes and were meticulous in recreating atmospheric effects and the natural mood of a place at a given

time. They would paint outside – a very unusual thing at the time – and were fastidious in determining proper colors and contrasts. Their brushwork, on the other hand, was relatively loose – comparable to the technique employed by romantic artists.

Artists of the paintings presented in order of appearance: Corot, Daubigny, Rousseau