Prints and Authors in the Time of Manet

Scree Oaks (Chenes de roche)

Etching, 1861
Winthrop H. Perry Fund, 1913.99

Of Théodore Rousseau’s few etchings, this print stands out as his masterwork. Like his fellow Barbizon school artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Rousseau showed no interest in the etching process after he finished his initial drawing. This etching might never have been completed if not for the intervention of Félix Bracquemond (also in this exhibition) who took charge once Rousseau had finished drawing on the copper etching plate. Primarily a painter, Rousseau nevertheless produced among the finest landscape etchings of the period.