Artwork
Environs of Fontainebleau: Woodland and Cattle
Environs of Fontainebleau: Woodland and Cattle is an oil painting by the Realist artist Auguste Bonheur. It dates from 1864 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting Environs of Fontainebleau: Woodland and Cattle, created by Auguste Bonheur in 1864, portrays a forest clearing in which cattle graze.
The painting Environs of Fontainebleau: Woodland and Cattle, created by Auguste Bonheur in 1864, portrays a forest clearing in which cattle graze. The composition renders trees and sky with naturalistic detail, while the animals occupy the central space of the scene. The work is executed in oil on canvas and is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection.
The depiction reflects a typical nineteenth-century interest in rural landscapes and the relationship between nature and domesticated life.
Technique & Style
Auguste Bonheur executed Environs of Fontainebleau: Woodland and Cattle in 1864 using oil paint on a canvas support. The work is a large-scale painting measuring 265.4 cm in height and 399.4 cm in width. Described as a depiction of a forest setting with cattle, the piece belongs to the classification of painting and is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
History & Provenance
Auguste Bonheur created the oil-on-canvas painting Environs of Fontainebleau: Woodland and Cattle in 1864, depicting a forest landscape featuring cattle and measuring 265.4 cm in height by 399.4 cm in width. The work entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it has been held since its acquisition. No specific details regarding the original commission or intermediate ownership prior to the museum acquisition are provided in the available records, the accession number is not specified, and no exhibition record is documented in the cited sources.
Overview
Auguste Bonheur's Environs of Fontainebleau: Woodland and Cattle, painted in 1864, is an oil on canvas. This realist work captures a group of cattle within a lush, dense forest landscape. The painting exemplifies Bonheur's focus on animal subjects and pastoral environments, presenting a tranquil scene from the French countryside.
Context
Auguste Bonheur was a French artist recognized for his specialized depictions of animals and rural landscapes. His approach to portraying cattle in natural settings reflects a continuity with earlier traditions, particularly drawing inspiration from seventeenth-century Dutch masters such as Aelbert Cuyp and Paulus Potter, who were renowned for their detailed animal portraiture and pastoral compositions.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Auguste Bonheur (3 November 1824 in Bordeaux – 21 February 1884 in Bellevue, Seine-et-Oise) was a French painter of animals and bucolic scenes in landscapes.
