Willows, with a Man Fishing

A fisherman stands among the rushes that border a pond or a river. Willow trees cluster at the water’s edge, the shade they provide contrasting with the sunlit meadow beyond.

This small landscape was most likely painted in the 1850s around the small town of L’Isle-Adam, about 25 kilometres north of Paris. Situated on the left bank of the River Oise, the town is surrounded by streams, ponds and small lakes. Dupré settled there in 1849 and often painted river scenes that include fishermen.

Of all the artists associated with the Barbizon school of landscape painters, Dupré was perhaps the most influenced by English landscape painting. In 1831 he visited England, where he studied the work of Crome, Turner and Constable. Constable’s influence, especially, can be seen in the small touches of paint and extensive use of white highlights that help create the effect of a bright, sunlit day despite the use of dark green in much of the painting.

Text: © The National Gallery, London

Painting photographed in its frame by Google Arts & Culture, 2023.