The Approaching Storm
Medium
Etching; first state of two
Dimensions
Image: 4 1/4 × 6 3/4 in. (10.8 × 17.1 cm) Plate: 6 1/4 × 8 1/4 in. (15.9 × 21 cm) Sheet: 7 3/4 × 10 3/8 in. (19.7 × 26.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Theodore De Witt, 1923
Accession Number
23.65.69
Tags
Art Historical Context
Charles-François Daubigny *The Approaching Storm (1844) is a captivating etching that evokes the drama of an impending tempest in the French countryside. In this first state of two rare, unaltered proof—the artist renders a rural road winding through trees, with human figures and animals caught in hurried motion against brooding skies. The intimate scale (image: 4¼ × 6¾ in.) draws viewers into the scene’s urgency, blending everyday life with nature’s sublime force. Daubigny, a key figure in the Barbizon school, pioneered plein-air painting and influenced Impressionism with his luminous landsc...
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...