The Seine: Morning
Medium
Oil on wood
Dimensions
15 1/4 x 27 1/4 in. (38.7 x 69.2 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Bequest of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, 1887
Accession Number
87.15.120
Tags
Art Historical Context
Charles-François Daubigny’s *The Seine: Morning* (1874) captures the serene beauty of Seine River at dawn, a motif central to this French artist’s oeuvre. Painted in oil on wood—a compact panel format ideal for plein air studies—measuring 15¼ × 27¼ inches, it reflects Daubigny’s lifelong fascination with the river’s ever-changing light and atmosphere. As a leading figure in the Barbizon, Daubigny pioneered naturalistic landscapes that bridged Romanticism and Impressionism, emphasizing direct observation of nature over studio idealization. This work, bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Ar...
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...