This contrast between the intimacy of the wooded shade and the luminous openness of the landscape creates a harmonious balance, typical of Harpignies' art. The viewer is thus invited to a silent contemplation, facing a nature rendered both solid and poetic.
Two restorations, one of them altering the signature
Henri Harpignies (1819-1916) is a French landscape painter attached to the Barbizon school. A friend of Corot, he developed a personal vision of nature, more structured and meditative than that of the Impressionists. His works, often centered on trees and the French countryside, reflect a search for balance between realism and lyricism. Throughout his long career, he exhibited regularly at the Salons and received numerous official distinctions. His paintings, now preserved in several major museums, including the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay, bear witness to his major role in the history of 19th-century landscape, where he was able to combine rigorous composition with poetic sensitivity.