Théodore Rousseau
Forest at Fontainebleau
1844
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Théodore Rousseau
Forest at Fontainebleau
1844
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, 12 3/4 x 21 5/8 in. (32.4 x 54.9 cm.)
Credit Line
The George A. Lucas Collection, purchased with funds from the State of Maryland, Laurence and Stella Bendann Fund, and contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations throughout the Baltimore community
Object Number
1996.45.237
Among the members of the Barbizon school, Rousseau is regarded
as the foremost exponent of pure landscape painting. Trained in the
neoclassical tradition, he also studied the work of 17th-century Dutch
landscapists as well as such early 19th-century English painters as
Richard Parkes Bonington and John Constable. From his youth,
Rousseau had sketched directly from nature and was drawn to the
Fontainebleau forest in the early 1830s. Although many of his works
gained the admiration of France’s leading Romantic painters and
writers, they were consistently rejected by the Salon, earning him
the nickname, “le grand refusé.”
In 1848, the year in which he settled in Barbizon, Rousseau finally
began to receive official recognition for his artistic innovations. His
vision of nature, the spontaneity of his compositions, and his highly
textured brushstrokes all presaged the Impressionist era.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 1996; The Maryland Institute College of Art through Henry Walters, Baltimore, by bequest 1909; George A. Lucas, Paris
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A Century of Baltimore Collecting 1840-1940", June 6-September 1, 1941, p. 46.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute", October 12-November 21, 1965, cat. no. 239.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "19th Century European Painting", June 24-September 7, 1969.
The Maryland Institute, Baltimore, March 18, 1970.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection: Maryland's Treasure", circulated to Strathmore Hall, North Bethesda, September 4-November 1, 1997; Academy of the Arts, Easton, January 31-March 7, 1998; and Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, July 26-September 27, 1998.
Sona K. Johnson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, "Barbizon and Impressionist Works from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated by Brain Trust to Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art, January 11-February 16, 2003; Sakura City Museum of Art, Chiba, February 27-March 30, 2003; Okazaki City Museum, April 5-May 18, 2003; Suntory Museum, Osaka, May 24-July 6, 2003; Miyazaki Prefectural Museum, July 12-August 17, 2003.
The Walters Art Museum, "The Road to Impressionism: Landscapes from Corot to Monet", October 3, 2004-January 8, 2005.
Sona Johnston, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A View Toward Paris: The Lucas Collection of 19th-Century French Art", October 1, 2006-December 31, 2006.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute", October 12-November 21, 1965, cat. no. 239.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "19th Century European Painting", June 24-September 7, 1969.
The Maryland Institute, Baltimore, March 18, 1970.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection: Maryland's Treasure", circulated to Strathmore Hall, North Bethesda, September 4-November 1, 1997; Academy of the Arts, Easton, January 31-March 7, 1998; and Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, July 26-September 27, 1998.
Sona K. Johnson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, "Barbizon and Impressionist Works from The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated by Brain Trust to Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art, January 11-February 16, 2003; Sakura City Museum of Art, Chiba, February 27-March 30, 2003; Okazaki City Museum, April 5-May 18, 2003; Suntory Museum, Osaka, May 24-July 6, 2003; Miyazaki Prefectural Museum, July 12-August 17, 2003.
The Walters Art Museum, "The Road to Impressionism: Landscapes from Corot to Monet", October 3, 2004-January 8, 2005.
Sona Johnston, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A View Toward Paris: The Lucas Collection of 19th-Century French Art", October 1, 2006-December 31, 2006.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A Century of Baltimore Collecting 1840 - 1940," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, p. 46.
"The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute: An Exhibition at The Baltimore Museum of Art," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1965, p. 55, cat. no. 239.
Sona K. Johnson et al, "Barbizon and Impressionist Works from The Baltimore Museum of Art," Tokyo: "Barbizon and Impressionist Works from The Baltimore Museum of Art" catalogue committee, 2003, no. 37, p. 69, ill. p. 68.
Inscribed: RECTO: LR in orange paint "TR" VERSO PAINTING: Center Stretcher in black script, "Fontainebleau/Stride de...," pink chalk, "237;" Tag at Top in black ink, "ROUSSEAU (THEODORE) dec'd...Paris/Born in Paris, 1812. Pupil of Guillon-Lethiere. First exhibited, Salon, 1834. Medals 1834, 1840, 1855. Le-/gion of Honor, 1852. One of the eight Grand Medals/of Honor (Exposition Universelle), Paris, 1867. Died,/1867. Diploma to the Memory of Deceased Artists, 1868." VERSO FRAME: Left side, paper label with black lettering (torn), "EXPOSIT...Lucas (script)/POTTIER, EMB..LLEUR/de Tableaux..etx d'art" (now in object file); Right side in black ink, "237.1," carved at top, "237 TOP;"
