Signed lower right N.Diaz
Between 1860 and 1870
Probably executed in the forest of Fontainebleau, this painting shows in the foreground large rocks and a character lost in the middle of the forest.
At the age of 30, Diaz de la Pena joined the group of the Barbizon school, where he frequented Théodore Rousseau, Jean-François Millet and Renoir. His favorite place is the forest of Fontainebleau, from 1850 he becomes a very famous painter and will play a leading role in the formation of impressionists. Eugène Delacroix wrote in 1847 about one of his paintings: "remember the impression ....". Although he did not take part in the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874, he was nevertheless linked to them and greatly admired by Van Gogh who saw in him a powerful colorist.
Our painting belongs to the third period of Diaz, while living in Paris, he nevertheless painted a lot in Fontainebleau and his colors are contrasted and his execution is of a great freedom.
It is from this period that the painting preserved in the Dallas museum dates from 1868 (84 x 111 cm). It depicts the forest of Fontainebleau with the same treatment of the white color on the tree trunks accentuating the dramatic side of nature
The character lost in the middle of this grandiose, almost oppressive nature gives the measure of the human being in relation to the nature which surrounds him, but also to the universe to which he belongs. The scale of time is given by the height of the trees and the dimension of their trunks, they dominate us with their superbness and in the middle of this tangle of trees the feelings of solitude and immensity are rendered in a masterly way by the white touches on the trunks giving a dramatic side to the scene.
The painting also conveys the bewitching side of the forest at night as well as the fascinating sounds of nature with almost Wagnerian aspects.
