Moving into the Boat
Medium
Etching; first state of three (Delteil)
Dimensions
Image: 4 1/2 × 6 11/16 in. (11.5 × 17 cm) Sheet: 7 1/16 × 10 1/16 in. (18 × 25.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Theodore De Witt, 1923
Accession Number
23.65.57
Tags
Art Historical Context
Charles-François Daubigny, leading figure in the Barbizon school landscape painting, captures a serene moment of rural life in his 1861 etching *Moving the Boat*. This first state of three, as cataloged by Delteil, measures a modest 4½ × 6⅝ inches and exemplifies Daubigny's skill in printmaking. A precursor to Impressionism, he often depicted the rivers and countryside around Paris, such as the Oise, infusing his works with natural light and atmospheric depth. The scene portrays women and children amid wagons, busily loading belongings onto a boat—evoking the simple rhythms of 19th-century Fr...
About the Artist
Charles-François Daubigny · 1817–1878
Charles-François Daubigny was born on February 15, 1817, in Paris into a family of artists, with his father, Edmé-François Daubigny, a classical landscape painter, and his uncle, Pierre Daubigny, a miniaturist, providing his initial artistic training. He further studied under Jean-Victor Bertin, Jacques Raymond Brascassat, and Paul Delaroche at the École des Beaux-Arts, though he quickly moved bey...