Theodore Rousseau
Thèodore Rousseau (1812 – 1867) was a French Realist painter. He was the leader of the Barbizon School. He was introduced to art by his sculptor uncle, Lemaire and his cousin, landscape painter, Paul de Saint-Martin. Rousseau studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. At the Louvre, he copied landscape works of Claude Lorrain, Ruysdael, John Constable and Bonington. From the 1830s onwards, Rousseau became a passionate and appreciative interpreter of nature. [1]
In 1848, fascinated by the forest of Fontainebleau, he took up his residence in Barbizon to paint nature directly. In 1855, he had a great success at the Universal Exhibition. Rousseau had a strong influence on the early careers of Monet, Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro and Renoir. Ibidem
Mont-Saint-Michel.
Soleil couchant.
Maison-atelier a Barbizon.
Pond at the Edge of a Wood.
Avenue, Isle-Adam forest, 1846-1849.
Theodore Rousseau was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1851, due to his ability of painting in the "Naturalist" style.