
Cowherd
Department of Art after 1800
Artist | |
---|---|
Culture | French |
Date | mid-19th century |
Object type | painting |
Medium, technique | oil on wood |
Dimensions | 32 x 44.5 cm |
Inventory number | 67.B |
Collection | Department of Art after 1800 |
On view | This artwork is not on display |
Born to Spanish parents, the artist studied porcelain painting in Sèvres. In the 1830s he came in contact with a group of landscape painters working in Barbizon. His favourite subjects were shady woods and the contrast of the sun shining through the clouds and from behind the dark foliage of the trees. In the picture, at the foot of an enormous silhouette of the trees, the small figure of a brushwood collector is seen, emphasising the harmony between man and nature. Like many of his fellow painters, Diaz – similarly to Munkácsy in his first period of art – used bitumen to ground the canvas, resulting in the gradual darkening of the colours and the partial loss of nuances in tone.
Ferenc Tóth
This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.