Forest Scene by Barend Cornelis Koekkoek

Forest Scene by Barend Cornelis Koekkoek (1848) was painted during a year of European revolution. While crowds fought in the streets, Koekkoek walked into a forest and stood still. The painting hangs in the Rijksmuseum, part of the Dutch national collection, and represents the country's contribution to the Barbizon School, a French-led movement that insisted on painting directly from nature.

Look at the bark of the central oak, the moss on its trunk, the reflections in the stream. Koekkoek built them not in one pass but through glazing: thin, translucent layers of oil paint, one over another. Light travels through each wash and bounces back, giving the canvas its inner glow. The warm golds and cool blues of the sky are not mixed on the palette. They are stacked in the paint.

Koekkoek was the most famous member of a dynasty of seven painters. His reputation was built on landscapes like this one, which connect the careful observation of the Dutch tradition with the Barbizon School's emphasis on atmosphere.

The secret of a glowing landscape: thin washes, patiently applied. Light traveling through paint.