(1817-1878)

Born into a family of artists, Daubigny worked as a decorator of trinkets for a clockmaker and then as a restorer of paintings in the Louvre. His formal training began when he entered the studio of Pierre Anasthasie Théodore Sentiès in 1835. He also studied briefly with Paul Delaroche. Daubigny traveled independently to Italy in 1836, before competing unsuccessfully for the Prix de Rome in historical landscape in 1837 and 1841. He began exhibiting regularly at the Salon of 1838, making trips to the provinces each summer in search of landscape motifs. He met Corot on one such excursion to Crémieu in 1852. Although Daubigny achieved considerable success by the early 1850s, critics consistently complained about the rough execution and lack of finish in his landscapes. In the autumn of 1857 he purchased his famous studio boat, the "Botin," which prompted him to turn increasingly to riverscapes. Daubigny's career reached its apogee in 1859, when he received his third first-class medal at the Salon, was awarded a major commission to decorate a government office in the Louvre, and was named Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur. Shortly thereafter, however, his fortunes began to decline as complaints over his sketchy execution intensified. In 1865 Daubigny traveled to London, where he met Whistler. and to Trouville, where Monet, Courbet, and Boudin were also working. Daubigny was first elected to the Salon jury in 1866 and became notorious for his support of the younger generation, particularly Pissarro. Cezanne, and Renoir. He resigned from the jury of the 1870 Salon over the rejection of a painting by Monet.