Countryside in Picardy

1860

Théodore Rousseau

Associated Names
Théodore Rousseau

Painter, French, 1812 - 1867

This painting depicts a landscape with an open green field stretching out into the distance. At the bottom of the painting, there is a rocky area with sparse vegetation and yellow, sun-bleached grass. Farther in the distance there are small groups of green trees, and some thatched-roof structures are partially obscured on the right. At the center of the painting there is a small area of red, suggesting a person or two walking along a brown path. Far in the distance there are small dots of white and pink, suggesting flowers or perhaps buildings. The color scheme is earthy and muted, dominated by browns, greens, and grays. The top half of the image is dominated by the sky, with textured white clouds swirling against patches of light blue.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

M. Lefebvre, Roubaix; (his estate sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 4 May 1896, no. 43);[1] (M. Knoedler and Co., New York); sold 12 May 1896 to William A. Clark [1839-1925], New York;[2] bequest April 1926 to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art.
[1] The painting is stock number 8068 in the M. Knoedler and Co. Records, accession number 2012.M.54, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles: Sales book 7, 1892 July-1900 October, page 149.
[2] Date of sale according to M. Knoedler and Co. Records, accession number 2012.M.54, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles: Painting Stockbook 4, 4369-8799, 1883 April-1899 April, page 212.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1978

  • The William A. Clark Collection, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 26 April - 16 July 1978, unnumbered catalogue.

2011

  • A Passion for Nature: Landscape Painting from 19th Century France, Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, 15 October 2011 - 20 February 2012, no catalogue.

Bibliography

1915

  • Hoeber, Arthur. The Barbizon Painters. New York, 1915: repro. opposite 236, as Landscape at Picardie.

1925

  • Carroll, Dana H. Catalogue of Objects of Fine Art and Other Properties at the Home of William Andrews Clark, 962 Fifth Avenue. Part I. Unpublished manuscript, n.d. (1925): 180, no. 193.

1999

  • Schulman, Michel. Théodore Rousseau, 1812-1867. 2 vols. Paris, 1999: 2:308, no. 596, repro., as Plaine de Cély en Bière, forêt de Fontainebleau.

Inscriptions

lower left: Th. Rousseau

Wikidata ID

Q46627802

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