Let Haters Hate

Charles-François Daubigny (1817–1878) received a lot of praise in his life but has also harsh criticism. One critic described his work as “nothing but drafts.” Another asked: “Is M. Daubigny afraid of ruining his work by finishing it?”

You’ve probably never heard of Charles-François Daubigny. But he blazed a trail for some people you probably have heard of: Monet, Pissarro, Cézanne, Renoir...

Ridiculously, you might never have heard of them either without old Charlie. He both influenced their work with his own proto-Impressionist style and directly championed it too...

...dragging them into the limelight over the vehement protests of some of his less-progressive art-world peers.

So not only did Daubigny defy his own haters (escaping to live and work on a boat travelling the rivers of France to capture the raw essence of their natural beauty)...

...he used his hard-won success to defy the haters of a lot of other young painters too. Now that’s a guy you want fighting on your side.

Monet is said to have later taken over the painting from the boat. Also, Van Gogh admired him so much he painted a picture of his garden three times. So there’s that.