The Barbizon school (circa 1830–1870) of painters is named after the village of Barbizon near Fontainebleau Forest, France, where the artists gathered.

The Barbizon painters were part of a movement towards realism in art in reaction to the more formalized romantic movement of the time.

In Nutshell

Terminology
Refers to the village of Barbizon on the edge of the Fountainebleau forest, 30 miles southeast of Paris
Artists
Camille Corot, Jean François Millet, and Théodore Rousseau.
Timeline
1830-1860
Started In
Barbizon village in France.
About
Group of French painters led by Théodore Rousseau. Barbizon School painters fled the hectic pace of Paris for the countryside.
Theme
Mostly landscapes, some scenes of rural life with peasants; often shown in atmospheric, twilight scenes; usually romantic in outlook.
Art Style
Usually naturalistic; accurate (although romanticized) views of nature. Studies done out-of-doors, but finished canvases created in studio.
Known Work
COROT, Morning: Dance of the Nymphs, 1850.
Inspiration
English landscape painters like John Constable, as well as 17th century Dutch painters.
Become Inspiration Of
German and American landscape painters, and Impressionists.

Exploring Art Style

In 1824 the Salon de Paris exhibited works of John Constable. His rural scenes influenced some of the younger artists of the time, moving them to abandon formalism and to draw inspiration directly from nature. Natural scenes became the subjects of their paintings rather than mere backdrops to dramatic events.

During the Revolutions of 1848 artists gathered at Barbizon to follow Constable's ideas, making nature the subject of their paintings.

One of them, Jean-François Millet, extended the idea from landscape to figures — peasant figures, scenes of peasant life, and work in the fields. In The Gleaners (1857), Millet portrays three peasant women working at the harvest. There is no drama and no story told, merely three peasant women in a field.

Artists
The leaders of the Barbizon school were Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Théodore Rousseau, Jean-François Millet and Charles-François Daubigny; other members included Jules Dupré, Narcisse Virgilio Diaz, Henri Harpignies, Félix Ziem and Alexandre DeFaux.

Art Works By Barbizon School Artists

• Charles-François Daubigny (French, 1817-1878), The Crossroads of the Eagle's Nest, Fontainebleau Forest, 1843-44, 1843-1844, oil on canvas, 35 1/2 x 45 1/2 inches, Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
• Charles-François Daubigny, A Pond in the Morvan, 1869, oil on canvas, 44 1/2 x 65 inches, Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
• Charles-François Daubigny, A River Landscape with Storks, 1864, oil on wood panel, 9 1/2 x 17 5/8 inches (24.1 x 44.8 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
• Charles-François Daubigny, Gobelle's Mill at Optevoz, c. 1852, oil on canvas, 22 3/4 x 36 1/2 inches (57.8 x 92.7 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
• Charles-François Daubigny, Landscape with a Sunlit Stream, oil on canvas, 25 1/8 x 18 7/8 inches (63.8 x 47.9 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
• Constant Troyon (French, 1810-1865), Road in the Woods, oil on canvas, 22 7/8 x 19 inches (58.1 x 48.3 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
• Eugène Cuvelier (French, 1830-1900), View of Fontainebleau Forest in Mist, c. 1860, depicted: Seine et Marne, France, salted paper print from glass negative, 19.8 x 25.8 cm (7 13/16 x 10 3/16 inches), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
• Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (French, 1796-1875), Fontainebleau: Oak Trees at Bas-Bréau, 1832 or 1833, oil on paper, laid down on wood panel, 15 5/8 x 19 1/2 inches (39.7 x 49.5 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
• Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Misty Morning, about 1860-1875, oil on canvas, 31 1/8 x 43 1/2 inches, Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
• Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Silenus, 1838, oil on canvas, 97 1/2 x 70 1/2 inches, Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
• Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Study for "The Destruction of Sodom", 1844-45, oil on canvas, 14 1/8 x 19 5/8 inches (35.9 x 49.8 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See study.
• Jean-François Millet (French, 1814-1875), Seated Shepherdess, about 1852, oil on canvas, 27 1/4 x 24 1/4 inches, Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Millet is most associated with the Barbizon school of painters, though he is an important precursor to Realism.
• Jean-François Millet, Fisherman, black crayon, 0.328 x 0.492 m, Louvre.
• Jean-François Millet, Spring, 1868-1873, oil on canvas, 33 3/4 x 43 3/4 inches (86 x 111 cm), Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
• Jean-François Millet, Woman with a Rake, probably 1856-57, oil on canvas, 15 5/8 x 13 1/2 inches (39.7 x 34.3 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
• Jules Dupré (French, 1811-1889), Valley of the River Loire, oil on wood panel, 10 3/4 x 19 1/4 inches (27.3 x 48.9 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
• Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña (French, 1807-1876), Autumn, Forest Interior, 19th century, oil on panel, 14 x 18 inches, Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
• Pierre-Étienne-Théodore Rousseau (French, 1812-1867), A Meadow Bordered by Trees, c. 1845, oil on wood panel, 16 3/8 x 24 3/8 inches (41.6 x 61.9 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
• Pierre-Étienne-Théodore Rousseau, A River Landscape, oil on wood panel, 16 3/8 x 24 7/8 inches (41.6 x 63.2 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
• Pierre-Étienne-Théodore Rousseau, Autumn at St. Jean de Paris, Forest of Fontainebleau, 1846, oil on canvas, Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
• Pierre-Étienne-Théodore Rousseau, Sunset near Arbonne, c. 1860-65, oil on wood panel, 25 1/4 x 39 inches (64.1 x 99.1 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
• Pierre-Étienne-Théodore Rousseau, The Edge of the Woods at Monts-Girard, 1854, oil on wood panel, 31 1/2 x 48 inches (80 x 121.9 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
• Pierre-Étienne-Théodore Rousseau, The Forest in Winter at Sunset, 1845-67, oil on canvas, 64 x 102 3/8 inches (162.6 x 260 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.