COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
mediaCollectionId
AMICO~1~1
The AMICA Library
Collection
true
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1964.290
amicoid
CMA_.1964.290
AMICA ID
false
AMICA Library Year:
2001
aly
2001
AMICA Library Year
false
Object Type:
Paintings
oty
Paintings
Object Type
false
Creator Name:
Rousseau, Theodore
crn
Rousseau, Theodore
Creator Name
false
Creator Nationality:
European; French
crc
European; French
Creator Nationality
false
Creator Role:
artist
crr
artist
Creator Role
false
Creator Dates/Places:
1812 - 1867
cdt
1812 - 1867
Creator Dates/Places
false
Biography:
Introduced to landscape painting through his cousin Pau de Saint-Martin (q.v.), Rousseau entered the studio of Jean-Charles-Joseph Rmond (1795-1875) in 1826 and was later taught by history painter Guillaume Lethire (1760-1832). The young artist copied the works of Claude Lorrain (1600-1682) and Dutch seventeenth-century landscape painters at the Louvre, and he was intrigued by contemporary painters such as Constable (q.v.) and Bonington (q.v.). His foremost interest, however, was the study of nature. In 1830 he traveled extensively through the Auvergne and was much inspired by the wilderness of this region. Scheffer (q.v.), who admired Rousseau's nature studies from this period, introduced him to the Paris art circles of Charles Baudelaire and Delacroix (q.v.). In the early 1830s Rousseau also met Corot (q.v.) and became very close friends with Dupr (q.v.). Rousseau exhibited at the Salons of 1831 and 1833-35. After 1836 he began to travel extensively throughout France, notably to the forest of Fontainebleau and to Barbizon, where he would return every year and become the leader of the group of romantic-naturalist artists, the so-called Barbizon School. In the 1850s he also became increasingly involved in the movement to preserve the forest of Fontainebleau from industrialization. From 1836 until 1841 all of Rousseau's works were refused at the Salon because the jury advocated a more classicizing landscape painting. As he was also often passed over for official honors, the artist became known as 'le grand refus' and abstained from showing his work at the Salon most of the 1840s. After the 1848 revolution, the new regime under Napoleon III rated his work more favorably, even granting him a first-class medal at the 1849 Salon, so he no longer had to submit his work to the jury. Yet Rousseau had not been awarded the Legion of Honor, an even stronger insult when Dupr received it. In the early 1850s Rousseau befriended Millet (q.v.), and the two often worked together in Barbizon. Rousseau's international breakthrough occurred at the 1855 Exposition Universelle, where his work was exhibited in a gallery that he shared with Decamps (q.v.). Throughout his career, however, the sale of his work was unstable, partly because not showing regularly at the Salon limited his exposure. The artist therefore even had to organize two auctions (1850, 1861) of his works in order to make money, but the results were disappointing. Rousseau exhibited thirteen paintings at the Exposition Universelle of 1867 and figured as president of the jury. Yet because of his animosity with Comte de Nieuwerkerke, directeur-gnral des muses impriaux, the artist only received a grand medal and not the anticipated highest rank, Officer of the Legion of Honor. The lesser medal was awarded only after heavy protest from Rousseau's friends, five months before his death, and Nieuwerkerke had the last word, refusing to honor the artist with a posthumous retrospective as would have been expected. Although Barbizon painters such as Rousseau are noted for their study from nature, many worked on their larger canvases in the studio. And even though his art was still rooted in a romantic spirit, Rousseau's plein-air studies and his preoccupation with the rendering of specific light effects were instrumental for the development of impressionism.
crb
Introduced to landscape painting through his cousin Pau de Saint-Martin (q.v.), Rousseau entered the studio of Jean-Charles-Joseph Rmond (1795-1875) in 1826 and was later taught by history painter Guillaume Lethire (1760-1832). The young artist copied the works of Claude Lorrain (1600-1682) and Dutch seventeenth-century landscape painters at the Louvre, and he was intrigued by contemporary painters such as Constable (q.v.) and Bonington (q.v.). His foremost interest, however, was the study of nature. In 1830 he traveled extensively through the Auvergne and was much inspired by the wilderness of this region. Scheffer (q.v.), who admired Rousseau's nature studies from this period, introduced him to the Paris art circles of Charles Baudelaire and Delacroix (q.v.). In the early 1830s Rousseau also met Corot (q.v.) and became very close friends with Dupr (q.v.). Rousseau exhibited at the Salons of 1831 and 1833-35. After 1836 he began to travel extensively throughout France, notably to the forest of Fontainebleau and to Barbizon, where he would return every year and become the leader of the group of romantic-naturalist artists, the so-called Barbizon School. In the 1850s he also became increasingly involved in the movement to preserve the forest of Fontainebleau from industrialization. From 1836 until 1841 all of Rousseau's works were refused at the Salon because the jury advocated a more classicizing landscape painting. As he was also often passed over for official honors, the artist became known as 'le grand refus' and abstained from showing his work at the Salon most of the 1840s. After the 1848 revolution, the new regime under Napoleon III rated his work more favorably, even granting him a first-class medal at the 1849 Salon, so he no longer had to submit his work to the jury. Yet Rousseau had not been awarded the Legion of Honor, an even stronger insult when Dupr received it. In the early 1850s Rousseau befriended Millet (q.v.), and the two often worked together in Barbizon. Rousseau's international breakthrough occurred at the 1855 Exposition Universelle, where his work was exhibited in a gallery that he shared with Decamps (q.v.). Throughout his career, however, the sale of his work was unstable, partly because not showing regularly at the Salon limited his exposure. The artist therefore even had to organize two auctions (1850, 1861) of his works in order to make money, but the results were disappointing. Rousseau exhibited thirteen paintings at the Exposition Universelle of 1867 and figured as president of the jury. Yet because of his animosity with Comte de Nieuwerkerke, directeur-gnral des muses impriaux, the artist only received a grand medal and not the anticipated highest rank, Officer of the Legion of Honor. The lesser medal was awarded only after heavy protest from Rousseau's friends, five months before his death, and Nieuwerkerke had the last word, refusing to honor the artist with a posthumous retrospective as would have been expected. Although Barbizon painters such as Rousseau are noted for their study from nature, many worked on their larger canvases in the studio. And even though his art was still rooted in a romantic spirit, Rousseau's plein-air studies and his preoccupation with the rendering of specific light effects were instrumental for the development of impressionism.
Biography
false
Gender:
M
cgn
M
Gender
false
Creator Birth Place:
Paris, 15 April 1812
cbp
Paris, 15 April 1812
Creator Birth Place
false
Creator Death Place:
Barbizon, 22 December 1867
cdp
Barbizon, 22 December 1867
Creator Death Place
false
Creator Name-CRT:
Théodore Rousseau
crt
Théodore Rousseau
Creator Name-CRT
false
Title:
Marshlands
otn
Marshlands
Title
false
Title Type:
Primary
ott
Primary
Title Type
false
Title:
Le marécage de La Souterraine
otn
Le marécage de La Souterraine
Title
false
Title Type:
Foreign
ott
Foreign
Title Type
false
View:
Full View
rid
Full View
View
false
Creation Date:
not dated
oct
not dated
Creation Date
false
Creation Start Date:
1822
ocs
1822
Creation Start Date
false
Creation End Date:
1867
oce
1867
Creation End Date
false
Materials and Techniques:
oil on wood panel
omd
oil on wood panel
Materials and Techniques
false
Dimensions:
Unframed: 15.9cm x 24.6cm
met
Unframed: 15.9cm x 24.6cm
Dimensions
false
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
oon
The Cleveland Museum of Art
AMICA Contributor
false
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
oop
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Owner Location
false
ID Number:
1964.290
ooa
1964.290
ID Number
false
Credit Line:
Severance and Greta Millikin Collection
ooc
Severance and Greta Millikin Collection
Credit Line
false
Inscriptions:
Signed lower left: TH. Rousseau
oin
Signed lower left: TH. Rousseau
Inscriptions
false
Rights:
orl
<a href="http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html"target="_new">http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html</a>
Rights
false
Provenance:
J. Léger, Paris. Galerie Claude Aubry, Paris. Severance and Greta Millikin, Cleveland. Given to the CMA in 1964.
opo
J. Léger, Paris. Galerie Claude Aubry, Paris. Severance and Greta Millikin, Cleveland. Given to the CMA in 1964.
Provenance
false
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1964.290.TIF
ril
CMA_.1964.290.TIF
Related Image Identifier Link
false