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Forest of Fontainebleau, Autumn
(18th and 19th Centuries )
Diaz's training was limited to decorating porcelain and studying the Old Masters in the Louvre Museum. In 1835, he began to explore the Fontainebleau forest, where he encountered other artists associated with the Barbizon school.
Diaz specialized in views of the interior of the forest. His pictures were distinguished by his mastery of color and were compared by one critic to a "pile of jewels." In this view of an ancient oak tree, he explores a range of rich russets, ochers, greens, and browns. This late work illustrates the rich, tapestry-like effects he created by dabbling and scumbling his pigments to blur the outlines, a technique that was admired by the impressionists such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisely, who worked in the forest during the 1860s.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
William T. Walters, Baltimore, 1871-1878 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2024-2025 | Reinstallation 2024: Art and Process. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2010-2011 | 19th Century Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, Austin. |
| 2008-2009 | The Road to Impressionism: Barbizon Landscapes from the Walters Art Museum. The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis; The Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh. |
| 2004-2005 | The Road to Impressionism: Landscapes from Corot to Manet. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2002-2004 | A Magnificent Age: Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte. |
| 2000-2002 | Triumph of French Painting: Masterpieces from Ingres to Matisse. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach; Dayton Art Institute, Dayton; Royal Academy of Arts, London; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo. |
| 1998 | Before Monet: Landscape Painting in France and Impressionist Masters: Highlights from The Walters Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1889-1890 | The Works of Antoine-Louis Barye. American Art Gallery (New York), New York. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 1/23/1957 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
| 3/6/1979 | Treatment | other |
| 3/6/1979 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
| 1/11/1982 | Examination | examined for condition. |
| 4/8/1999 | Examination | examined for condition |
Measurements
H: 30 11/16 x W: 25 1/2 in. (78 x 64.7 cm); Framed H: 44 1/8 x W: 39 1/8 x D: 5 5/8 in. (112.08 x 99.38 x 14.29 cm, 27.2 kg)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. Walters, 1871-1878
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.64