Unruly Nature: The Landscapes of Théodore Rousseau

Though his reputation was eclipsed in the early twentieth century with the triumph of Impressionism, Théodore Rousseau (1812–1867) was one of the giants of French landscape in the second half of the nineteenth century, and his work was avidly collected for staggering sums across Europe and North America.

Bringing together about seventy-five paintings and drawings, this international loan exhibition explores the astonishing technical and stylistic variety of his work, revealing him to be one of the most exciting, experimental, and affecting artists of his day.

Exhibition overview from the Getty Museum website

Whether you go or not, the lavishly illustrated and thoroughly documented exhibition catalog Unruly Nature: The Landscapes of Théodore Rousseau  presents Rousseau as an experimental artist who rejected the traditional historical, biblical, or literary subject matter in favor of “unruly nature” --  a Romantic naturalism that confounded his contemporaries with its “bizarre” compositional and coloristic innovations. Essays consider his diverse techniques and working procedures as a painter and as a draftsman, as well as his art’s mixed economic and critical fortunes in the art market and at the Salon.