Attributed To Charles Bourdon — Rocky Woodland Landscape, Possibly Fontainebleau

Attributed to Charles Bourdon — Rocky Woodland Landscape, Possibly Fontainebleau

French School, 19th century
Oil on canvas — 80.5 × 60.5 cm
Signed “Bourdon” lower right.

Rocks, woodland and amber light

In this generously proportioned vertical composition, a towering rock formation rises behind slender, bare tree trunks. Amber light opens the scene on the left, while vegetation and rocky forms gather into deep browns and dark greens on the right.

The painting draws its strength from the contrast between luminous space and the density of the rocks. Broad, occasionally impasted brushstrokes build the uneven terrain, while the branches form a more delicate network across the foreground. The woodland is the principal subject, its intensity emerging from the interplay of forms, shadows and light.

Charles Bourdon and the Fontainebleau landscape

Charles Bourdon was a French landscape painter documented in the mid-19th century. The original Salon catalogues provide several details that extend the brief account given in Bénézit.

In 1846, he exhibited a landscape depicting the heights of the Nid-de-l’Aigle in the Forest of Fontainebleau. He also submitted two drawings from nature representing subjects in the same forest: a group of oak trees at the Nid-de-l’Aigle and a pond at Mont-Chauvet. These three submissions demonstrate a sustained interest in woodland scenery and direct observation.

In 1848, his exhibited subjects included a château in the Nivernais and a cottage in the Morvan. These documented works place his activity within the development of French landscape painting around the middle of the century, combining Romantic sensibility with an increasing attention to observed nature. Salon catalogue, 1846, Salon catalogue, 1848.