Barbizon School
Our deepeing on the Barbizon School has to begin with the figure of Théodore Rousseau.
Théodore Rousseau, parisian artist, who was born in 1812, started the movement that would decisively influence Impressionist art.
After leaving academic painting, Rousseau decides to devote himself to painting in a more free way, based on the observation of nature from life. If Theodore Rousseau can be identified as a key artist of the movement, surely the forest of Fontainbleu becomes the place around which everything develops.
Soon the painter begins to find, in this place, a source of inspiration for his works, until he chooses it as the place where he can spend his life, settling in the village of Barbizon. It is here that other artists began to arrive attracted by the new way of painting proposed by Rousseau. Thus, the Barbizon School was born.
Painting
Immerse yourself in nature and paint.
This is the fundamental principle of the Barbizon School: getting out of the atelier, knowing how to reproduce the play of light and portray the landscape exactly as it is when you are painting. The works are, however, completed in the artist's atelier and this is a substantial difference with Impressionism. The works of the Barbizon School cannot be defined as totally realistic, as they represent the landscape exactly as the artist perceives it at that moment.
The methods of applying color with small touches are, however, fundamental for the birth of Impressionism, which begins its experience from the Barbizon School.
Artists
Charles-François Daubigny is an artist belonging to the Barbizon School who, more than others, applies painting “en plein air”, a fundamental pillar for the Impressionists. His art will influence great painters such as Claude Monet and Renoir. Other artists in the group are Jean-François Millet, who introduces humble characters in his works, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, for whom light is an essential element, Jules Dupré, Constant Troyon, Hippolyte Camille Delpy and many others.