barbizon

19thC. French school / Barbizon Landscapes

Charles-Francois Daubigny Charles Meyron Adolphe Appian Maxim lalanne Henri-Joseph Harpignies Camille Corot

Charles-Francois Daubigny (Paris 1817-1878 Paris)

As famous for his original etchings as for his paintings, Charles Daubigny holds a prime position in mid nineteenth century French art. A leading artist of the great Barbizon landscape school, Charles Francois Daubigny directly influenced the following generation of Impressionist painters. He is considered an important precursor of impressionism.

Daubigny was born in a family of painters and was taught the art by his father Edmond François Daubigny and his uncle Pierre Daubigny.

Daubigny traditional style changed after 1843 when he settled in Barbizon to work outside in nature. Even more important was his meeting with Camille Corot in 1852 in Optevoz (Isère). On his famous boat Botin, which he had turned into a studio, he painted along the Seine and Oise, often in the region around Auvers. From 1852 onwards he got under the influence of Gustave Courbet, and his style went more and more in the direction of what later would become impressionism. In 1870 in London he met Claude Monet, and together they left for the Netherlands. Back in Auvers, he met Paul Cézanne, another important impressionist. It is assumed that these younger painters have been influenced by Daubigny.

Charles Daubigny regarded etching as a vital force in his art. Between 1838 and the year of his death he created more than one hundred and fifty works of art in the graphic mediums -- far more than his fellow Barbizon artists, Millet and Corot. Mainly self-taught as an etcher, Charles Francois Daubigny's graphic art has been actively collected for over one hundred and fifty years.

Original etching for in L'Art
LE BERGER ET LA BERGERE , 1874 (DELTEIL, MELOT 122) Shepherd and Shepherdess) Etching, 1874. Edition with letters as published in L’Art in 1874. Printed by L.Fort 28 by 21 cm, Impression in a full sheet with small margins.

Two large landscapes with cattle

PARC A MOUTON LE MATIN, 1860 The theme reflects Daubigny's interest in the rendering of the atmospheric affects of landscape. A painting of this subject was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1861 and Daubigny also executed a "cliché-verre" version in 1862. This state of the etching appeared with the title "Parc a mouton le matin" in the first volume of "Eaux-fortes modernes" in 1862-1863. Signed Daubigny pinx^t& sculp^tbottom left 21,50 by 38,50 cm, Impression in a full sheet with 10 cm margins.	LE GUE , 1865, tiré 1 janvier 1866 A group of cows passing the ford. Some details remind the Dutch animal etchers from the 17th century's Daubigny Sculp on the left Imp. Delâtre, Rue St Jacques 303, Paris on the right Paris published par Cadart & Luquet, Editeurs 79, Rue Richelieu in the middle. Their oval dry stamp in the margin 30,50 by 37 cm, Impression in a full sheet with wide margins.

Four original etching's published in Gazette des Beaux-Arts

LEVER DE LUNE, 1871 Purity of line combined with striking atmospheric effects. It both looks back to the seventeenth century landscape art of Rembrandt and his contemporaries and forward to the revolutionary movement of French Impressionism. Lever de Lune was actually commissioned by the Gazette des Beaux-Arts in 1861. However, apart from a handful of trial and working proofs which constitute the initial states, the first full edition was not published by the Gazette until 1871. Signed Daubigny bottom left, Imp. Delâtre Paris at right. 13,50 by 19,50 cm on plate border in a full sheet with nice margins.	PLAGE DE VILLERVILLE, Delteil et Melot 88 - iv/v A fourth state, as published in the Gazette de Beaux Arts in 1874. Signed Daubigny invent et Sculp left, Imp. A Salmon Paris at right. 15 by 22 cm on plate border in a full sheet with nice margins.

CLAIR DE LUNE A VALMONDOIS, 1877 Reference: Melot D 127, Delteil ( iv/iv) This etching was used to illustrate the obituary article on Daubigny, who died on February 19, 1878. The author, Alfred de Lostalot, explained that "this etching was drawn two months before the death of the artist. Daubigny intended to do some retouching - death did not leave him the time to do so". Published in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts in 1878, Printed by Cadart 16,50 by 23,50 cm on plate border, with small margins.	LE MARAIS, 1851 Reference: D. 84 v/vi. Published in Gazette des Beaux-Arts, March 1, 1874 Drawn and etched by Daubigny. Printed by A. Salmon, Paris. 14,50 by 21,50 cm on plate border. on laid paper with nice margins
The Gazette des Beaux-Arts: The revival of etching as a prominent form of art first took place in France in the mid nineteenth century. Sparked by the Paris etchings of Charles Meryon and by the Barbizon landscape etchings of Charles Francois Daubigny, Millet, Corot and Jacque, French artists elevated etching to a creative process of art as vital as painting or sculpture. Such an outburst of artistic energy in this field had not been seen since the days of Rembrandt and other seventeenth century Dutch master etchers. At the vanguard of this wave was the Paris based Gazette des Beaux-Arts. Beginning with its initial publication in 1859, the Gazette regularly commissioned the greatest etchers of the day to supply original graphic art for publication. Nineteenth century editions included original etchings by Charles Daubigny, Goya, Meryon, Whistler, Seymour Haden, Max Liebermann, Albert Besnard and others. Thus some of the greatest etchings of the nineteenth century originated from this publisher.

Two of his rare cliché-verre

EFFET DE NUIT, 1858 Reference: lois Delteil 144 “Effet de Nuit” (1858-59), a scene of the moon rising over water, is so dense with crosshatching that it could almost be a conté drawing by Seurat. As most of the cliché -verre from the 1921 limited publication in Paris by Sagot_Le Garrec 17 by 20 cm on photo sensitive vellum paper.	SENTIER DANS LES BLES, 1862 PATH IN THE CORN A fourth state, as published in the Gazette de Beaux Arts in 1874. Early impressions are extremely scarce As most of the cliché -verre from the 1921 limited publication in Paris by Sagot_Le Garrec 176,50 by 20 cm on photo sensitive vellum paper.
The "cliche-verre" technique was developed by the painter Constant Dutilleux and one of his sons-in-law, Charles Desavary, the drawing professor Louis Grandguillaume, and Adalbert Cuvelier, an industrialist and paint manufacturer. It was during a trip to Arras on April 16, 1853, to attend the wedding of Albert Robaut with Elisa Dutilleux, that Camille Corot discovered the process. Excited by the photographic applications to drawing and painting, the small group of enthusiasts began a lengthy collaboration with the painter by photographically reproducing his paintings. Following these encounters, in May 1853, Camille Corot produced the first in an impressive series of glass plates. The light, delicate sensitivity that so often enlivened his landscapes seemed to be permanently fixed in the lines and hatching of his 'cliche-verre'.The process momentarily attracted Eugene Delacroix, Charles Daubigny, Jean-Francois Millet, Theodore Rousseau and many lesser-known artists, but none used it as enthusiastically as Camille Corot. The history and technique of the 'cliche-verre' were described in an article in the November 1903 issue of 'La Gazette des Beaux-Arts'. 'Il s'agit de dessiner sur une plaque de verre rendue sensible et qui sera ensuite tiree comme un negatif photographique.On prend une plaque de verre ou de glace mince recouverte, ordinairement, de collodion sur laquelle on produit, non pas a l'aide de la chambre noir, mais a la main un dessin. Simplement griffe avec une pointe de metal ou de bois taille, tamponne avec une brosse ou un pinceau dur, le verre laisse apparaitre le dessin original qui, par les transparences et les opacites, devient analogue a un negatif verre.' 'The prints were made by simple contact, in the same way as for a normal negative plate. Despite a low margin for interpretation, considerable differences could appear from one print to another.The special attraction which distinguishes the cliche-verre from all other techniques lies in the diversity of printing possibilities. These variations which are difficult or even impossible to create when printing an engraving, etching or lithograph, make it possible to instantly produce a version which is distinct from the original, such as reversed, transformed or revised version of the artist's original work It was in the communities of Arras just outside of Paris and at Barbizon near the Fountainebleau forest where cliché-verre gained a foothold and briefly flourished in France over the course of two decades. Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875), greatly intrigued by photography, became its most passionate and prolific practitioner, ultimately attaining fluid, free, almost abstract sketches which demonstrate his assurance with the medium and which are striking in their modernity. Corot's extensive visual exploration with this new medium was enthusiastically shared by Charles-François Daubigny (1817-1878), whose expertise as an etcher informed his sensitive and masterful treatment of the glass plate..."

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