Paul-Désiré Trouillebert (1829-1900) Young woman sitting against a tree

Oil on canvas, signed lower right
Dimensions: H. 29.5 cm x W. 23.5 cm (with frame: H. 44 cm x W. 38 cm)

Paul-Désiré Trouillebert was born in 1829 in Paris. In France, he is one of the finest plein air landscape painters of the 19th century, and undoubtedly the artist closest to Corot, with whom he forged a strong relationship. Trouillebert's brushstrokes, light and expressive, allowed him to play with transparencies; his palette, primarily composed of blues, greens, and browns, has a distinctive tone thanks to the ochre ground that Trouillebert applied to his canvases and panels before painting, which constituted something of a second signature. Like Corot, he declared, "I only work from nature; I do not accept studies copied in the studio."
Trouillebert is associated with the Barbizon school; his style is distinctive and easily recognizable to an expert. Trained by the academic portraitist Ernest Hébert, Trouillebert was accepted into the Salon des Artistes Français in 1865 primarily for his portraits and nudes, where he exhibited until 1884. He traveled throughout France, but it is undoubtedly his subjects along the banks of the Loire and the Seine that are most sought after. Indeed, it is in the depiction of flowing waters, vibrant skies, and birch trees swaying in the wind that the artist excels.

This painting is a work whose meticulously studied composition evokes a profound sense of tranquility in the viewer. Trouillebert uses the contours of the riverbank to create a diagonal line that rises to the right, opening up the perspective to the left. With a spirited touch, the painter rendered the trees he knew best: willows and birches. To the left, one can discern the bed of a river, undoubtedly the Loire, his favorite subject. The blue sky is enlivened by white clouds painted with thick impasto. The young woman sits against a birch tree, a pose Trouillebert rarely depicted.

This high-quality work is on its original canvas and in impeccable condition. It remains in its beautiful, perfectly restored original frame.

Museums housing works by Paul Désiré Trouillebert: Paris, Musée d’Orsay and Petit Palais / New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Baltimore, Walters Art Museum / Cleveland, Museum of Art / Saint Petersburg, Hermitage Museum / Valparaiso, Fine Arts Museum…