Who painted The Ford?

The Ford was painted by Claude Lorrain in 1648-01-01.

Where can I see The Ford?

The Ford is held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What movement is The Ford?

The Ford is associated with Barbizon school.

Can I buy a print of The Ford?

Museum-quality prints of The Ford are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

The Ford

Claude Lorrain , 1648

The Ford is an oil painting by the Barbizon school artist Claude Lorrain. It dates from 1648 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

Claude Lorrain's landscape setting frames the scene with gentle banks and distant foliage, emphasizing the harmony between human activity and nature.

The Ford portrays a tranquil river crossing, or ford, where a small boat carries a man and a woman across the water. Claude Lorrain's landscape setting frames the scene with gentle banks and distant foliage, emphasizing the harmony between human activity and nature. The title and the depicted elements together suggest a narrative of passage and travel, characteristic of Lorrain's idealized, pastoral visions that imbue everyday moments with a timeless, serene quality.

Technique & Style

Executed in 1648, The Ford is an oil painting on canvas by Claude Lorrain. The work measures 74.3 cm in height and 101 cm in width. As a landscape composition, the piece depicts a river scene featuring a boat, a man, and a woman.

The application of oil paint on a woven canvas support represents the artist's standard medium for this genre during the mid-seventeenth century. The available records confirm the physical dimensions and material composition but do not provide specific details regarding the current condition of the surface, the specific handling of the brushwork, or further stylistic analysis beyond the identified subject matter.

History & Provenance

The Ford, a landscape painting attributed to Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellée), was created in 1648. The work entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains housed. It is catalogued as an oil painting on canvas, measuring 74.3 cm in height and 101 cm in width, and depicts a riverine scene featuring a boat and figures, consistent with Lorrain's characteristic style of idealized naturalism.

While the source material confirms the painting's current location and physical dimensions, it does not provide a specific accession or inventory number, nor do the available records document a history of exhibitions for this specific piece.

Overview

The Ford is an oil painting depicting a tranquil riverside landscape. The composition centers on a group of figures gathered by the water's edge beneath a large tree, while small boats navigate the distant river. The scene unfolds within a gently undulating, hilly terrain, under a soft, pale sky that contributes to the work's serene atmosphere.