CONSTANT TROYON: THE ANIMALIER OF BARBIZON SCHOOL
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Depicting the grazing animals in an atmospheric landscape with unique color blending and picture harmonization skill, the French Realist Painter, Constant Troyon, is celebrated as one of the leading animal painter of Nineteenth century.
Famous for his realistic paintings, the artist was born on August 28, 1810, in Sèvres, near Paris. His father was related to the porcelain manufactory. At a tender age, Troyon entered the atelier as a decorator, and until twenty he labored hard and achieved mastery over porcelain ornamentation. Before reaching twenty-one, he had already attained countrywide recognition through his work.
After traveling for sometime, Troyon established connections with a china manufacturer and start working as a decorator until he had saved enough funds to start his wonderings. For further inspiration, Troyon befriended Camille Roqueplan, an artist 8 years his senior, who introduced him to Rousseau, Jules Dupré, and the other Barbizon painters. From 1840 to 1847, Troyon seemed to endeavor to follow their footsteps.
In 1846, Troyon moved to Hague, Netherlands, where his true-self as an artist start emerging. After seeing Paulus Potter's famous “Young Bull”, Cuyp's sunny landscapes, and Rembrandt’s noble masterpieces, he evolved a new method of painting and developed his individual style. He realized his power as an animal painter and soon afterwards his fame exploded to different corners of the world starting from the US and the UK.
Troyon's unique brushstroke skills continue to amaze many art lovers to-date. His novel color blending generates an insurmountable sense of harmony and coexistence to most his animal paints. Widely recognized for his heavenly ability to add a sense of realism in his work, Troyon never left any piece of detail to chance.
Troyon's burning desire for quality artistic masterpieces saw him decorated with the Legion of Honor award, and five times received medals at the Paris Salon. Napoleon III was one of his patrons who came out strongly in support of his work.
Troyon's all famous paintings are of date between 1850 to 1864. His paintings are well known to the public through several large engravings from his paintings. In the Wallace Gallery in London are “Watering Cattle” and “Cattle in Stormy Weather “; in the Glasgow Corporation Gallery is a “Landscape with Cattle”; the Louvre contains his famous “Oxen at Work” and “Returning to the Farm”; while the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other galleries in America contain fine examples of his paintings.
Emile van Marcke was Troyon’s best known pupil. His mother, who survived him, instituted the Troyon prize for animal paintings at the École des Beaux Arts.
Constant Troyon died, unmarried, at Paris on February 21, 1865 and was buried in the Cimetière se Montmartre Quarter of Paris.
References:
www.invaluable.com/artist/troyon-constant
www.wikiart.org/en/constant-troyon
www.totallyhistory.com/constant-troyon
www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/troyon-constant.html
www.artuk.org/discover/artists/troyon-constant
www.artsy.net/artist/constant-troyon