The Winding River

Henri-Joseph Harpignies 1819 - 1916

Summary

This view shows a river meandering across a gently undulating landscape with cattle grazing the fields on the far bank. The short grass on the near bank suggests that it has also been used as grazing. On the extreme left there is a small hill topped by low trees. Tall marginal grasses and white clouds are reflected in the glassy surface of the still water. The sky is expansive and occupies two-thirds of the picture. Although this painting might appear to have the fresh light of a painting made completely outdoors, it would almost certainly have been sketched there and completed in the painter's studio. The river was apparently in the Plateau de Morvan, from an illustration of a near identical version (Arthur Tooth & Sons sale, 9-27 November 1971, Recent Acquisitions XXVI). Harpignies, who was born in Valenciennes, rejected a future in local business to join the Parisian studio of the landscape painter Jean Achard (1807-1884). His mature style derived from several contrasting influences. Visits to Italy in 1849-52 and 1863-5 had a formative effect and in this his work is particularly close to that of his friend, Corot, who strove for a refined and elegant naturalism. His style also owed much to the work of his other Barbizon friends and acquaintances, with whom he worked regularly in the Forest of Fontainebleau from the mid-1850s.