VMFA Circle Lecture Series
Thu, Apr 15, 12 pm | Join us via Zoom!
Plein-Air Landscape Painting in 19th Century France: Methods and Materials
with Anthea Callen, FRSA, Professor Emeritus, The Australian National University, Canberra, and Professor Emeritus of Visual Culture, The University of Nottingham, UK
The great era of French plein-air landscape painting spans the long 19th century, from Rome in the late 1700s to Paris c.1900. Central to French Academic art training for landscape painters from 1817 onwards, oil sketching outdoors capturing natural daylight effects became widespread and a highly visible practice at beauty spots throughout France. Already common during the 1820s in Fontainebleau Forest, it was ubiquitous by the 1840s, when the railways began to make travel faster and easier. By the 1850s in France, landscape was the most popular of all the painting genres, both in exhibits at the Paris Salon and among discerning dealers and collectors. This talk will include examples from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, to illuminate the artistic challenges, methods and materials of plein-air landscape painting, stressing the importance of the movement in revolutionizing modern artistic practices.
This program will broadcast at 12 pm EDT but will be recorded for guests who are not able to tune in during the workday. Please register in Zoom to receive the program recording via email following the lecture.
Presented By
The VMFA Circle Lecture Series is open to members beginning at the Friends Circle level. Please register early as participation is limited. If you have questions, please contact the Donor Relations team at rsvp@vmfa.museum.
