Julien Dupré (1851-1910) - Haymaking

Oil on canvas signed bottom left

Dimensions : H. 66 x L. 82 cm (With frame: H. 102 x L. 118,5 cm)

Julien Dupré was born in 1851 in Paris. He is one of the most remarkable naturalist painters of the second half of the 19th century in France. Unlike the artists of the Barbizon School, in whom figures and animals were only elements of the landscape, Julien Dupré gave them a central place. Farm animals are his favorite, especially cows and horses.

Julien Dupré was in the tradition of Jean-François Millet (1814-1875) and Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899), and the Musée d'Orsay holds several of his works.

Julien Dupré exhibited beautiful harvest scenes at the Salon from 1876 to 1881. This artist liked to represent the work of man: not a tedious and exhausting work but a work always marked by a touch of poetry, in which the characters seem to blossom, and contribute to the common achievement.

In this painting, Julien Dupré gives us a glimpse of one of his favorite themes - haymaking - and displays all his talent. We note the remarkable precision he brings to each detail, his ability, for example, to render the blades of hay flying on all sides, the graceful gestures in which each of the characters is captured, the ample sky with its moving clouds, the magnificent play of light on the animals' coats, the peasants' clothes, and the surrounding countryside. Our painting is a large format, rare on the market. The richness of the composition is also out of the average with a large number of characters and animals. Finally, we must take into account the exceptional quality of the original frame of this painting: It is an important model, richly carved, and gilded with the leaf; The state of conservation of this frame, as well as that of the work still on its original canvas, are absolutely perfect.

Museums :

Paris, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Le Petit Palais, New York, Carcassonne

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