- Details
- Date: 1867
- Title: Ville d'Avray
- Holder: National Gallery of Art
- Artist: Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
- Movement: Realism
Ville-d'Avray is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 11.9 km from the center of Paris. The commune is served by the Boulogne-Billancourt prefecture, of the Hauts-de-Seine department.
Traditional narrative or historical painting would have a landscape in the background, but not necessarily an actual landscape. From the 1830s, however, the modern landscape painting genre was born as an increasing number of painters observed and painted landscapes out of doors. Camille Corot was one of the new genre's pioneers. The town of Ville d'Avray, on the outskirts of Paris, and on the property he had inherited from his parents, was blessed with a wealth of natural beauty, and Corot painted its landscapes, with its forests and lakes, again and again throughout his career.
Several of these paintings may be seen on this site in the Corot Gallery.
- Details
- Date: 1880
- Title: On the Terrace at Sevres
- Holder: Musee du Petit Palais, Geneva
- Artist: Marie Bracquemond
- Movement: Impressionism
- Details
- Date: 1869
- Title: La Vague (The Wave)
- Holder: Musee des beaux-arts de Lyon
- Artist: Gustave Courbet
- Movement: Realism
Courbet painted many works depicting the coast of the English Channel at Tourville and Etretat in the latter half of the 1860s. This coastline provided the stage for works by Corot, Boudin and Monet, and these artists were dubbed the Saint-Siméon Group after a site in this region. Courbet was one of the most active members of this group. In 1868 Courbet, Manet, Monet and Boudin participated in the International Seascape Exhibition in Le Havre. It is thought that Waves was painted on the coast at Etretat in 1869. Courbet's powerful brushwork can be seen in the expression of the constantly changing waves and sky. The huge waves with their white caps rise up and crash under the heavy sky. The waves eventually crash on the huge crags in the foreground. This transitory moment was captured on canvas by his virtuosity. Courbet created several other works on this subject in the same year.
Seven of these paintings may be found on this site in the Courbet Gallery.