Interior of a Wood at Pierrefitte

1822
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 805
The true subject of this painting is the dispersal of sunlight in a thicket of trees, where the only patch of sky is visible as a reflection in the stream at center. It was sketched at Pierrefitte, just to the north of Paris, in 1822, the same year Leprince made his public debut at the Salon. Study of the accidental effects of nature was an essential part of the landscape artist’s development.
Leprince’s first teachers were his father, Anne-Pierre, and his brother Auguste-Xavier (see 2003.42.40, also on view).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Interior of a Wood at Pierrefitte
  • Artist: Robert-Léopold Leprince (French, Paris 1800–1847 Chartres)
  • Date: 1822
  • Medium: Oil on paper, laid down on cardboard
  • Dimensions: 11 1/8 x 16 in. (28.3 x 40.6 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Thaw Collection, Jointly Owned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Morgan Library & Museum, Gift of Eugene V. Thaw, 2009
  • Object Number: 2009.400.82
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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