Constant Troyon "return To The Farm"

Constant Troyon. Preparatory study for "Return to the Farm". Unsigned oil on canvas. French school. 53.3 X90 cm. Constant Troyon (1810-1865) began as a porcelain painter (his parents worked at the Sèvres factory), and in 1824 met Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Pena (1807-1876), with whom he became friends, then Jules Dupré (1811-1889): they went to work in Barbizon where Camille Corot (1796-1875) and Théodore Rousseau (1812-1867) were. Troyon made his debut at the Salon in 1833. He traveled around France, as all landscape painters did, in search of new sites and themes. After a trip to the Netherlands where he discovered the painters Paulus Potter (1625-1654) and Albert Cuyp (1620-1691), he placed in the landscapes he painted in the forest of Fontainebleau herds of cattle and sheep in effects of light and reflections of water which were to experience, from the Salon of 1849, a huge success. He also worked in Normandy where the pastures allowed him to renew his subjects, as well as in the valley of the Touques where he painted landscapes of beautiful luminosity. The Musée d'Orsay has several of his works including "Return to the Farm" (391 X 261 cm) executed around 1854. Several international museums also have some of his paintings (The Hague, New York, Boston, Chicago and Moscow) as well as many national museums. Sources: Schurr dictionary of minor masters of painting. Our painting dates from the 1850s. It is either a preparatory study or a reduced replica from the Troyon workshop. Unframed. Two small restorations towards the bottom of the painting. Good overall condition. 2800 euros.