CHARLES-FRANÇOIS DAUBIGNY

• Born in Paris, he was the son of the landscape painter Edmond François Daubigny and the nephew of Pierre Daubigny, and received artistic training from an early age. In 1841, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he studied in the studio of Paul Delaroche. From 1843 onward, he worked in the Forest of Fontainebleau and traveled extensively, producing numerous landscapes based on close observation of nature. Beginning in 1857, he used his small boat, Le Botin, as a floating studio on the Seine and Oise rivers, painting directly from the water—an approach later adopted by Claude Monet. After 1860, he lived in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris. In 1868, he served as a juror for the Paris Salon, where he supported young artists who would later form the Impressionist movement. A leading figure of the Barbizon School, he is regarded as an important precursor to Impressionism. He was awarded the Legion of Honour as Chevalier in 1859 and promoted to Officier in 1874.