The Seine: Morning

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 Art in 1887 through the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, exemplifies Daubigny’s innovative techniques, such as loose brushwork and luminous effects to evoke morning mist and reflections. His depictions of the Seine influenced younger artists like Monet, who admired his floating studio barge. For visitors, it offers a tranquil portal to 19th-century France, highlighting the river’s role in Parisian life and the dawn of modern landscape painting.

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...