Landscape

Théodore Rousseau prints bring the oaks, clearings and glowing sunsets of the Forest of Fontainebleau into your home. Rousseau was the leading landscape painter of the Barbizon School, a group of French artists who painted nature directly and paved the way for the Impressionists. Our collection of fine art prints includes his forest scenes, Auvergne mountains, marshes, pools and views of Mont Blanc.

About Théodore Rousseau

Étienne Pierre Théodore Rousseau was born in Paris on 15 April 1812 into a middle-class family. He showed an early talent for painting, and his father, at first unhappy that he gave up business, became a lifelong supporter.

Rousseau showed six works at the Paris Salon between 1831 and 1835, but in 1836 his great Jura landscape was rejected, and none of the eight works he sent over the next five years were accepted. The critic Théophile Thoré called him "le grand refusé", the great rejected one. During these years of exile he painted some of his best pictures, including The Chestnut Avenue and The Marsh in the Landes.

In 1848 he settled in the village of Barbizon, on the edge of the Forest of Fontainebleau, and lived there for most of his remaining years. The Exposition Universelle of 1855 gathered his rejected pictures and they were widely praised. Later troubles, including his wife's illness and failing sales, wore him down. He suffered paralysis in 1867 and died at Barbizon on 22 December 1867, with his lifelong friend Jean-François Millet beside him.

Style and Subjects

Rousseau painted the forest as a living thing: massive oaks with twisting branches, dark undergrowth, still pools and clearings lit by low sun. His colours are deep greens, earthy browns and the gold and red of evening skies.

He worked from long observation, sketching outdoors and finishing in the studio, and he wanted landscape to stand on its own, without stories from history or myth. Away from Fontainebleau he painted the mountains of the Auvergne and the Jura, the marshes of the Landes and, late in life, Mont Blanc.

Famous Works

• The Chestnut Avenue (1837), Musée du Louvre, Paris. A shaded avenue of old chestnut trees, painted during his years of rejection.
• The Forest in Winter at Sunset (1846), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Bare winter trees against a burning evening sky.
• The Forest of Fontainebleau: Morning (1850), Wallace Collection, London. A forest glade in morning light, closely related to his Glade in the Forest of Fontainebleau.
• The Oaks of Apremont (1850–1852), Musée du Louvre, Paris. A group of great oaks in the open plain of the forest.
• The Edge of the Forest (1851), Musée du Louvre, Paris. The work often called his masterpiece, shown after the Salon reforms of 1848.
• The Great Oaks of Old Bas-Bréau. Ancient oaks in one of the forest's best-known groves.
• View of Mont Blanc, Seen from La Faucille (1865), Minneapolis Institute of Art. Painted after his trip to the Alps in 1863.

Decorating with Rousseau Prints

Rousseau's forest scenes suit rooms with wood, leather and warm colours: a study, library, den or dining room. Their deep greens and browns work beautifully with dark wood frames, and a sunset scene such as Sunset near Arbonne adds a glow above a fireplace.

The lighter landscapes, such as the Auvergne views and pools, bring calm to a bedroom or hallway, and fit country, cottage and traditional interiors.

FAQ

What was the Barbizon School?

The Barbizon School was a group of French landscape painters, named after the village on the edge of the Forest of Fontainebleau where Rousseau and others lived and worked. They painted nature directly and influenced the Impressionists.

Why was Rousseau called "le grand refusé"?

The Paris Salon rejected his work again and again from 1836 to 1841. His friend, the critic Théophile Thoré, gave him the nickname, meaning "the great rejected one".

What is Théodore Rousseau's most famous painting?

The Edge of the Forest (1851), in the Louvre, is often called his masterpiece. The Forest in Winter at Sunset at the Metropolitan Museum is also well known.

Where can I see Rousseau's paintings?

Major works are in the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Wallace Collection in London and the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg.

Was Rousseau friends with Millet?

Yes. Jean-François Millet, the painter of peasant life who also lived in Barbizon, was his lifelong friend and was with him when he died.

Related Artists

• Jean-François Millet: his lifelong friend and fellow Barbizon painter
• Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña: Barbizon painter whom Rousseau mentored
• Charles-François Daubigny: fellow Barbizon landscape painter
• Jules Dupré: Barbizon landscape painter of the same generation
• Constant Troyon: Barbizon painter of cattle and pastures