The Oak Tree and the Reed
Medium
blue, gray, and black wash, and graphite
Dimensions
{"sheet":{"height":0.293,"width":0.23}}
Classification
Drawing
Department
Drawings
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Bequest of Muriel Butkin
Accession Number
2008.357
Tags
male
About this artwork
The Oak Tree and the Reed illustrates the fable of the same name by the 17th-century French writer Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695). Having disdainfully pitied the reed for bending before the wind, the oak is shown torn from the earth by a terrific north wind. Focusing upon the uprooted oak, Daubigny created a violently expressive treatment of the subject. The bold dappling of lights and darks below is set off by the intense blue of the clouds encroaching upon the land from the left. The diagonal...