The Barbizon School, an artistic movement that emerged in the 1820s and shared ties with Romanticism, was rooted in a succession of landscape painter colonies established around Barbizon, France. These artists sought to paint en plein air, particularly in the nearby Forest of Fontainebleau. This forest, located just outside Paris, provided a refreshing escape for many painters eager to reconnect with nature, away from the stifling urbanization of the capital. The invention of gouache and the creation of a railway line in the 1840s further accelerated this process.

At a time when observing nature was still considered “inferior” to more intellectual subjects, Romantic painters like Théodore Rousseau took a stand against this notion. Rejecting the growing industrialization and pollution, they chose to paint the tranquility and sublimity of natural landscapes. Key figures in this movement include Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1822), Théodore Caruelle d’Aligny, Camille Flers, Paul Huet, Alexandre Desgoffe, who painted in Barbizon before 1830, Narcisse Diaz de la Peña (1836), Lazare Bruandet, and later, Charles-François Daubigny (1843), Jean-François Millet (1849), and Théodore Rousseau, all of whom are also considered precursors.

Théodore Rousseau settled in Barbizon in 1847, where he spent countless hours capturing the natural landscape. This painting exemplifies his devotion to portraying the majesty of ancient trees, often pushing human presence into the background or omitting it entirely. Beyond his art, Rousseau’s passion for the forest fueled his early environmental advocacy, leading to the protection of large sections of the forest from deforestation, as seen in The Massacre of the Innocents (1847).

Although the Barbizon School takes its name from the village of Barbizon in north-central France, these painters did not see themselves as part of any formal school. The term “school” has been questioned by art historians since at least the 1950s, who argue that there was no unified “school” in Barbizon. Rather, it was a group of painters with very different styles who, at various times, found inspiration in the Forest of Fontainebleau.

While these artists placed a strong emphasis on exalting nature—painting majestic trees, lush landscapes, and animals—they also, in a different register, depicted the lives of common people and their rural existence.