François Bonvin, 'The Meadow', 1869
About the work
Overview
Formerly titled A Village Green in France, this is a view near Verberie, between Senlis and Compiègne, in the north-eastern department of Oise. We see a large flat field, in which cows are grazing, beneath a pale blue sky, which fills most of the picture. A row of trees with full foliage on the right of the picture casts dark shadows on the grass. A low hedge in the background divides the field from trees and houses in the distance.
Bonvin exhibited at the Salon from 1847, primarily painting still lifes (for example, Still Life with Book, Papers and Inkwell, also in the National Gallery) and scenes of everyday life, but from 1869 he turned to landscape painting. This picture shows the influence of seventeenth-century Dutch paintings, which Bonvin had studied at the Louvre. Along with other artists, including Corot, Bonvin was commissioned by the artist Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps to paint pictures for his house at Fontainebleau.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Meadow
- Artist
- François Bonvin
- Artist dates
- 1817 - 1887
- Date made
- 1869
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 45.7 × 55.2 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed; Dated
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by Mrs Edwin Edwards, 1895
- Inventory number
- NG1448
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Martin Davies, with additions and some revisions by Cecil Gould, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: French School: Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, etc.’, London 1970; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
-
1957Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1957
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Images
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