An inveterate traveler, Daubigny was a pioneer of the then-radical technique of painting rapidly at the scene, out of doors and served, in retrospect, as a bridge between Romanticism and Impressionism. Critics, predictably, howled over his jettisoning of detail and visible brushstrokes, but a younger generation of French painters - particularly Claude Monet - were profoundly impressed by Daubigny's style. He was especially fond of river scenes and captured the Seine, the Marne and the Oise repeatedly while exploring each by boat and mooring in spots where the view's composition struck him as an ideal candidate for painting.
About the exhibition:
Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism traces the development of plein air (at the scene or, literally, "full arena") painting from its inception in mid-nineteenth-century France, through the heyday of French Impressionism to its migration to U.S. shores via the minds and palettes of American painters returning home from abroad.
The exhibition has been culled from the Brooklyn Museum's own collection of French Barbizon and Impressionist landscapes, which was actively being built by Museum trustees, patrons and donors in the early twentieth century - at a time when this genre had not yet become quite so highly collectible. Some 40 paintings by French and American artists ranging from Claude Monet (1840-1926) and Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) to John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) and Childe Hassam (1859-1935) are included.
After its Brooklyn Museum presentation, the exhibition is scheduled to travel to The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida for a Summer, 2007 viewing. This will be followed by stops at other United States venues to be announced.
"Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism" is on view from February 3 through May 13, 2007 at the Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238-6052. (Telephone: (718) 638-5000, TTY (718) 399-8440; Website). The museum is open Wednesday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Hours are extended from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM for Target First Saturdays, held on the first Saturday of each month. Suggested admission is $8.00 for adults and $4.00 for seniors and students with valid I.D. Members and children under 12 accompanied by an adult are admitted for free. Limited paid parking is available on-site in the patrolled lot at the rear of the Museum off Washington Avenue.