The Boat in Conflans

Closely associated with the Barbizon school artists, Daubigny began his career painting landscapes in the Forest of Fontainebleau. His love of water scenes led him to portray innumerable sites along the rivers of France. In 1857, Daubigny launched his "botin," the studio boat that fostered the development of his plein-air aesthetic by enabling him to paint while traveling the French waterways, such as the Oise, the Marne, and the Seine rivers. This etching of the artist in his "floating studio" is from Voyage en Bateau, an album of etchings recording Daubigny’s river travels with his friend Camille Corot.