Ode to nature, from the Château de Fontainebleau to the hamlet of Barbizon
While the French artistic creation of the 16th and 17th centuries at the Ecole de Fontainebleau magnifies royal power above all else, nature is omnipresent. Numerous paintings inspired by ancient mythology and history feature nymphs, centaurs and divinities such as Diana, goddess of the hunt, portrayed by Gabrielle d'Estrées, surrounded by dogs and antlers. The Galerie François Ier, linking the king's apartments to the chapel, is alive with Italian-style putti, garlands of fruit, bucrania, satyrs and masks in the guise of the Green Man... a whole people from the forests and fields. These were undoubtedly the beginnings of the dominant role of nature in the art of the centuries that followed. The Romantic movement that emerged in the 19th century in Barbizon, once a simple hamlet on the edge of the forest, took its cue from John Constable (1776-1837), an English artist who set out to paint with his easel under his arm. Landscapes and rural scenes captured on the spot. Forerunner of this movement Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1875) "cradled on the knees of nymphs" populates his canvases with mythological figures ("Diane's bath" 1855), as well as rivers, rocks, woods, copses, groves... all landscape elements that become the main subjects enveloping "Laveuses au bord de l'eau" or "Bûcheronnes et Biblis ". A reminder of man's fragility in the face of nature, at a time of industrial revolution, marked by the memory of the terrible floods of December 1801 and January 1802 that caused so much damage in the region. Between 1825 and 1875, painters flocked to Corot, far from the cities, on the enchanting banks of the Seine. Among them were Charles-François Daubigny, Jean-François Millet, Théodore Moreau and Narcisse Diaz de la Pena. Brush strokes translating the subtle changes in nature as light plays, fleeting moments captured in the works of Théodore Rousseau, the first painter to depict the same scene at different times of day.
From the banks of the Loing to the Château de By
These seekers of light gathered in Barbizon anticipated Impressionism, echoing the spirit of poetic and musical creation; a spirit that is embodied in "L'après-midi d'un faune" by Stéphane Mallarmé, who liked to stay in Vulaines-sur-Seine, in his home facing the river and the Fontainebleau forest. Monologue of a créature champêtre evoking nymphs and nature, published in 1876 with illustrations from woodcuts by Édouard Manet, and set to music by Claude Debussy in Le Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune. Later, Lucien Pissarro, Maximilien Luce, Léo Gausson and Emile Cavallo-Peduzzi formed the so-called Lagny group. These artists made Lagny-sur-Marne, one of the cradles of Neo-Impressionism, an active artistic center, where a Salon des Beaux-Arts was organized from 1900 to 1907. It was also on the banks of the Loing that the Impressionist Aflfred Sisley (1839-1899) settled, near Moret-sur-Loing, in the verdant countryside. His works include Le Pont de Moret, effet d'orage (1887) and La Seine au point du jour (1877). Art in Seine-et-Marne would be inconceivable without Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899), an extraordinary artist, an icon of female emancipation and certainly the most famous and best-selling painter of her century, in France, England and the United States. For this innovative artist, who began her career at the age of 14, it was not only trees that stood out on canvas, but above all animals, whose souls she captured in powerful portraits. World-renowned for her masterpiece Le marché aux chevaux, in 1859 she acquired Château de By in Thomery. Here she set up her studio, along with her ever-increasing number of animals: a lion, a lioness, a deer, a sheep, a gazelle, horses and more. Rosa Bonheur was the first woman to buy a property in her own name and on her own dime. This 19th-century personality, armed with paintbrushes and dressed in men's clothes, wandered through forests, farms and livestock fairs to meet her models, earning the respect of such illustrious figures as Buffalo Bill, Queen Victoria, Napoleon III, Victor Hugo and Georges Bizet. A nature lover, she fought with Claude-François Denecourt - a connoisseur of forest trails and one of the pioneers of hiking - to convince Napoleon III to save the forest of Fontainebleau.
From yesterday to today, when art and nature merge
If Seine-et-Marne is famous for artists such as Corot, Sisley and Mallarmé, as well as Bourdelle, Chapu, Mac Orlan and Vasarely, who lived in Annet-sur-Marne, its lands also attract contemporary artists, notably in Fontainebleau (Galerie Fontaineblow, which "breaks the codes"), boissy-le-Chatel (Galleria Continua), Pontault-Combault (Centre photographique d'Ile-de-France), Bussy-Saint-Martin (Parc culturel de Rentilly), Chelles (Centre d'art Les Eglises) and Noisiel (ferme du Buisson). But from the 20th century to the present day, artists have always maintained close links with nature in Seine-et-Marne. François-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008), a Seine-et-Marne artist known for his utilitarian sculptures, places animals at the heart of his work. Sheep, rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, ostriches and more come in all shapes and sizes, in resin, bronze, sheet metal, cement and Sèvres porcelain. His works include the "rhino-secretary" and the "sardine-canapé". Today, painter Joss Blanchard, a visual artist and "tree portraitist", pays vibrant tribute to remarkable trees through her paintings. Although seemingly figurative, her paintings play with lyrical abstraction, blending abstract foliage and evocative trunks. Cerdà is also inspired by nature, with works featuring landscapes and plants - such as the water lilies for which she has a real passion - that are the subject of experimental research into strong colors and light/shadow contrasts.
