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Notes

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A forerunner to the Impressionists, Daubigny was intrigued by the momentary effects of light in nature. He particularly enjoyed painting reflections on water and had a riverboat named ‘le botin’ which he converted into a floating studio. This work was probably a study for a larger painting of the same subject exhibited at the Salon, Paris, 1852. It depicts a view from the centre of the River Oise looking towards the sunset and illustrates Daubigny’s desire to capture the momentary effects of light in nature. The sky and the water take up most of the composition so that light fills the picture. The thin paint and loose brushwork demonstrates the artist's haste as he tried to capture the different colours before the sun disappeared below the horizon.

The Bowes Museum

Barnard Castle

Title

Soleil Couchant, L'Ile de Bezons, France

Date

c.1851

Medium

oil on panel

Measurements

H 22 x W 34 cm

Accession number

2003.2322

Acquisition method

purchased from the late Mrs J. Eyles' sale at Tennants, Boroughbridge, with grants from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council/Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund and the Friends of the Bowes Museum, 2003