Narcisse-Virgilio Diaz de la Peña, 'The Storm', 1871
About the work
Overview
This landscape, imbued with strong natural and dramatic effects, is typical of Diaz’s late work. The view is across the desolate heathlands near the village of Barbizon. The combination of the dominant stormy sky with its mass of grey clouds and the bleak plain conjures up the terrors of a storm out in the open. The sky breaks only at the centre to show patches of blue, an unseen sun casting light onto the path below. To the right of this path a man carrying a gun is accompanied by two dogs.
Diaz has adapted his brushstrokes to the drama of the scene. The landscape is painted in short, choppy, horizontal and diagonal strokes, whereas the treatment of the sky, with multi-directional and expansive brushwork, echoes the stormy weather it describes. At the centre, vertical strokes are brought down over the tops of the bushes, perhaps suggesting rainfall.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Storm
- Artist dates
- 1807 - 1876
- Date made
- 1871
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 61.3 × 76.6 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed; Dated
- Acquisition credit
- Salting Bequest, 1910
- Inventory number
- NG2632
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 19th-century French Frame (original frame)
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Sarah Herring, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Nineteenth Century French Paintings’, vol. 1, ‘The Barbizon School’, London 2019; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2009Corot to Monet: A Fresh Look at Landscape from the CollectionThe National Gallery (London)8 July 2009 - 20 September 2009
Bibliography
-
1946Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, London 1946
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1957Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1957
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1970Davies, Martin, and Cecil Gould, National Gallery Catalogues: French School: Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists etc., London 1970
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1996
C. Heilmann, M. Clarke and J. Sillevis (eds.), Corot, Courbet und die maler von Barbizon: Les amis de la nature (exh. cat., Haus der Kunst, München), Munich 1996
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
-
2006P. Miquel and R. Miquel, Narcisse Diaz de la Peña (1807–1876). Monographie et catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, 2 vols, Paris 2006
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2019Herring, Sarah, National Gallery Catalogues: The Nineteenth Century French Paintings, 1, The Barbizon School, London 2019
Frame
Made in France during the mid-nineteenth century specifically for Diaz’s The Storm, this Barbizon frame reflects the artistic trends and sensibilities of the time. The oak wood structure is decorated with composition ornaments and is oil-gilded. It features intricate acanthus-leaf corners, and stemmed flowers surrounded by inward-curling leaves set against a cross-hatched background. Stop flutes adorn the back edge. The sanded flat is near the sight edge, which is embellished with shell and acanthus-leaf motifs.
A glazing door was fitted to the frame in the 1930s. Made for Diaz’s The Storm, this is considered the original frame for this painting.
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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