Thodore Rousseau* (1812-1867)

Le chne de roche, Fort de Fontainebleau

Details

Thodore Rousseau* (1812-1867)
Le chne de roche, Fort de Fontainebleau
signed 'TH.Rousseau.' (lower left)
oil on panel laid down on panel
35 x 46 in. (88.9 x 116.9 cm.)

Provenance

Ennemond Blanc; sale, Htel Drouot, Paris, 7 April 1862, lot 37. Thodore Rousseau, Barbizon and Paris (reacquired by the artist). Paul Marmontel (by 1867); sale, Htel Drouot, Paris, 11-14 May 1868, lot 61.
Private Collection, Germany (by 1872).
Johann Meyer, Dresden.
Dietel Collection; sale, Frederik Muller & Cie., Amsterdam, 3 November 1926, lot 19 (illustrated).
Auguste Volz; sale, Frederik Muller & Cie., Amsterdam, 15-21 April 1947, lot 380 (illustrated).
H.E. Ten Cate, Almelo, Holland (by 1955); sale, Sotheby's, London, 3 December 1958, lot 82.
Galerie Andr Watteau, Paris (1975).

Literature

L. Lagrange, "Le Salon de 1861," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Paris, vol. II, 1861, p. 136 (illustrated by etching op. p. 136).
O. Merson, La Peinture en France, Exposition de 1861, Paris, 1861, pp. 335-336. P. Mantz, "Les Beaux-Arts l'Exposition Universelle," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. II, 1 October 1867, p. 327. A. Sensier, Souvenirs sur Thodore Rousseau, Paris, 1872, pp. 244, 257-258 and 265.
P. Burty, "Thodore Rousseau," Matres et petits-matres, Paris, 1877, p. 142.
P. Burty, "Thodore Rousseau, paysagiste", L'Art, Paris, vol. II, 1882, pp. 188-190.
G. Lano and T. Brice, Histoire de l'cole Franais de Paysage, Paris, 1901, pp. 192 and 273.
L. Delteil, Le Peintre-graveur illustr XIXe et XXe sicles, J. F. Millet, Th. Rousseau, Jules Dupr, J.B. Jongkind, Paris, 1906, vol. I (illustrated with Rousseau's etching). E. Michel, La Fort de Fontainebleau dans la Nature, dans l'histoire, dans la littrature et dans l'art, Paris, 1909, pp. 164-166.
P. Dorbec, "Thodore Rousseau," Les Grands Artistes, Paris, 1910, p. 112 (reproduced by engraving).
P. Dorbec, "L'Oeuvre de Thodore Rousseau aux Salons de 1849-1867," Gazette de Beaux-Arts, February 1913, p. 121. Waldmann, Die Meyersche Gemaldesammlong in Dresden, 1913, pp. 81-88.
L. Dimier, Histoire de la Peinture Franais au XIXe sicle, Paris, 1914, p. 161. P. Dorbec, L'Art du paysage en France, Paris, 1925, p. 126. R. Huyghe, "L'Impressionnisme et la pense de son temps," L'Amour de l'Art, February 1939, no. 5, p. 10 (illustrated). D. Hannema, Catalogue of the Ten Cate collection, Rotterdam, 1955, no. 109 (illustrated, pl. 27).
H. Toussaint and M.-T. de Forges, Thodore Rousseau, 1812-1867, exh. cat., Muse du Louvre, Paris, 1967, discussed in introduction by Ren Huyghe (unpaged) and under nos. 79 and 86.
P. Miquel, L'Ecole de la Nature: Le paysage franaise au XIXe sicle, Maurs-la-Jolie, 1975, vol. III, pp. 469, 472 and 479, (illustrated, p. 476). M. Melot, Graphic Art of the Pre-Impressionists, New York, 1978, R-4, pp. 293-294 (for discussion of Rousseau's etching after the painting).
M. Schulman, Thodore Rousseau, Catalogue raisonn de l'oeuvre graphique, Paris, 1997 (includes drawing no. 562 described as a preparatory work for the painting; and Rousseau's etching after the painting, no. 754).

Exhibited

Paris, Salon, 1861, no. 2734. Paris, Galerie Martinet, Exposition des Socit Nationale des Beaux-Arts, 1862.
Paris, Exposition Universelle, 1867, no. 544.
Munich, Galerie Heinemann, April 1913, no. 171.
Barbizon, Salle des fres, Barbizon au temps de J.-F. Millet, May-June 1975, no. 290 (illustrated in color).
Bremen, Kunsthalle, Zurck zr Natur, 1977-1978, no. 113 (illustrated).

Engraved

Thodore Rousseau, 1861 (by etching).

Lot Essay

The Comit Rousseau has confirmed the authenticity of this painting, which will be included in the Rousseau catalogue raisonn of paintings in preparation by Pierre Miquel and Galerie Brame & Lorenceau.

Michel Schulman will include this painting in volume II of his forthcoming Rousseau catalogue raisonn.

Theedore Rousseau called particular attention to Le chne de Roche, Fort de Fontainbleau when he submitted the painting as his sole entry at the Salon of 1861, an unusual step for an artist who had sent five and six pictures to the preceding Salons. He further emphasized his pride in Le chne de Roche, Fort de Fontainbleau by making his own etching of the picture to illustrate a review in the prestigious Gazette des Beaux-Arts, rather than allow a professional printmaker to reproduce it. Rousseau was accustomed to causing controversy--he was still called "Le Grand Rfuse" in recognition of the years that he had been excluded from Salon exhibitions during the 1830's--and with Le chne de Roche, Fort de Fontainbleau he challenged Parisian sensibilities once again. The mystical sliver of daylight at the end of a tunnel of mossy rocks startled critics who were just beginning to accept Rousseau's road, open plains and understated marshlands. The extraordinary surface detail of ferns and lichens and thousands of glinting leaves mocked the detractors who previously complained the artist could never finish a painting. And as the fame of Le chne de Roche, Fort de Fontainbleau grew after Rousseau's death in 1867, the powerful old oak came to seem a stand-in for Rousseau himself, thriving in the most hostile terrain.

We are grateful to Alexandra Murphy for her assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.