INSPIRING IMPRESSIONISM: DAUBIGNY, MONET, VAN GOGH
Inspiring Impressionism looks at the works of three unique and celebrated artists: Charles-François Daubigny (1817–78), Claude Monet (1840–1926) and Vincent Van Gogh (1853–90).
Daubigny was dubbed the ‘Father of Impressionism’, and his influence on Monet and Van Gogh are clearly shown in this exhibition.
Daubigny was a pioneer of modern landscape painting, and you get a glimpse of why early on with Landscape with Harvesters (below). It’s a strangely peaceful scene because it looks as if the workers are quietly getting on with their work. No heavy, noisy machinery – just hard manual labour. In another painting, however (Banks of the Oise at Auvers), Daubigny removed signs of industrialisation in his determination to depict a specific time and theme.
In Daubigny's Sunset near Villerville, I love how the sunset skips along the waves like a skimming stone. It’s a scene which is breathtakingly beautiful …
as is Monet’s Sunset on the River at Lavacourt, Winter Effect, which shows some of Daubigny’s influence.
Here, the treatment of the light on the waves is similar, and – following Daubigny’s example (as in Ferryboat near Bonnieres-sur-Seine) – the work was painted mid-river so that Monet could be immersed by the surroundings. I adore the colour palette and the orange sunset dominating the piece.
In 1857, Daubigny had a studio boat constructed to allow him to capture his river landscapes mid-stream. There is a replica of it at the end of the exhibition. Monet also had a studio boat built, and his painting of it (The Studio Boat) is also on display.
Van Gogh comes late in this exhibition, but his paintings are still incredibly impactful. After Daubigny’s death, Van Gogh travelled to his home and painted around the town as well as his home. Daubigny's Garden reminds me of a panoramic picture. The swirling and almost trippy swirls bend as if Van Gogh were trying to show us more than we would have been able to see there.
For me, the highlight of the exhibition is when all three artists are compared when painting a similar scene – a poppy field. Daubigny’s Fields in the Month of June shows his love for the French countryside, and displays why he was a pioneer of modern landscape painting. He boasts a more technical approach than his two contemporaries.
Monet’s Champs de coquelicots was painted quickly with vigorous brush strokes.
Van Gogh’s Field with Poppies is much more stylistic but equally impressive. For me, it’s not as easy on the eye as Monet’s and Daubigny’s works, but it’s all about style and his unique approach is evident.
This exhibition is hugely enjoyable, and the works flow seamlessly from artist to theme.
But for me it was also an education. Monet is one of my favourite artists, but I hadn’t know much about Daubigny or his influence. Even the greats have their inspiration, and that inspiration should be shared with us all.—Rhys Fullerton
Inspiring Impressionism: Daubigny, Monet, Van Gogh continues at the Scottish National Gallery (The Mound) until 2 October 2016. Admission £11/£7.
Photo credits (top to bottom)
1. Charles-François DAUBIGNY, [Detail from] Landscape by Moonlight, c. 1875, Oil on panel, 35 x 57.3 cm, Heino, Netherlands, Hannema-de Stuers Foundation.
2. DAUBIGNY, Landscape with Harvesters, 1875, Oil on canvas, 43.5 x 89 cm, Collection: Stedelijke Musea, Gouda, Netherlands.
3. DAUBIGNY, Sunset near Villerville, c.1876, Oil on canvas, 89 x 130 cm, The Mesdag Collection, The Hague.
4. MONET, Sunset on the River at Lavacourt, Winter Effect, 1880, Oil on canvas, 100 × 150 cm, Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, Paris.
5. MONET, The Studio Boat, 1874, Oil on canvas, 50 x 64 cm, Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum.
6. VAN GOGH, Daubigny’s Garden, 1890, Oil on canvas, 50 x 101.5 cm, Collection Rudolf Staechelin.
7. DAUBIGNY, Fields in the Month of June, 1874, Oil on canvas, 135 x 224 cm, Gift of Mr and Mrs Louis V. Keeler, Class of 1911, Ithaca, NY, Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University.
8. MONET, Champs de coquelicots, 1881 Oil on canvas, 58 x 79cm Boijmans Museum, Rotterdam
9. VAN GOGH, Field with Poppies, 1890, Oil on canvas, Gemeentemuseum, The Hague.
------------
