Pathway in the Forest of Fontainebleau

Discussion

FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

One of the most inventive and influential French photographers of the 1850s, Le Gray was widely known for his landmark studies taken in the Forest of Fontainbleau, near Paris, from about 1849 to 1857. The photographs share a kinship with the work of the Barbizon painters, such as Corot, Daubigny, and Millet, who also worked there. Le Gray skillfully overcame technical problems to master the photographing of greenery and dark areas and to exploit the visual effects of light and atmosphere. In this enchanting scene, the viewer is drawn almost magnetically into a carriage trail surrounded by a dense archway of trees with sparkling sunlight filtering through the leaves.

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