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The Fisherman (Le Pêcheur)

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Find the small seated fisherman under the tree, then follow the bank and its reflection into the still water.

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Rousseau made this early drawing in pen, ink and wash, probably on the outskirts of Paris. He drew the tree, the grasses and the rocks with close attention and placed a small fisherman resting on the bank. The Cleveland Museum of Art notes that he thought of each tree in the Forest of Fontainebleau as almost a person, with its own fate.

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pen and brown ink and brush, gray and black wash (scratched away in places), with touches of pink watercolor · Sheet: 20.9 x 28 cm · Cleveland Museum of Art · Barbizon School

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Details and source

Museum title
The Fisherman (Le Pêcheur)
Artist
Théodore Rousseau (French, 1812–1867)
Date
c. 1840–45
Medium
pen and brown ink and brush, gray and black wash (scratched away in places), with touches of pink watercolor
Dimensions
Sheet: 20.9 x 28 cm (8 1/4 x 11 in.); Secondary Support: 20.9 x 28 cm (8 1/4 x 11 in.); Tertiary Support: 29.6 x 37.9 cm (11 5/8 x 14 15/16 in.)
Credit line
John L. Severance Fund
Image license
CC0 1.0 · Public domain
Museum record
Cleveland Museum of Art

Artist’s life 1812–1867

Barbizon School c. 1830–1870

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Galler’s rooms and hanging scale are imagined. The image is the museum’s original digital reproduction.

The Fisherman (Le Pêcheur) · Théodore Rousseau, c. 1840–45
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The Fisherman (Le Pêcheur), Théodore Rousseau

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