Harpignies, who came from a wealthy family, received minimal formal art instruction as a child and continued to dabble as a young adult. It wasn't until he was in his late 20s that painting became a serious pursuit, and he was 31 when a trip to Southern Italy served as an artistic epiphany. Awestruck over the play of light in Campagna, the Bay of Naples and Capri, Harpignies never again painted without paying keen attention to the lighting in his watercolor and oil scenes. Here, bathed in gentle morning light, he depicted a river valley in the Bourbonnais - a fertile region known for its agriculture and livestock production.
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.