Forest near Fontainebleau, c. 1892

In this painting, Eugen Jettel (1845–1901) depicted the Forest of Fontainebleau near Paris. The small size of the staffage figures makes the nature setting appear all the more prominent. Vibrant light and dark cloud formations crown a section of the forest, rendered in gloomy colors. These are unusual for this period in the artist’s oeuvre, who at the time generally preferred calm, pale blue skies. Jettel had received his training from Albert Zimmermann (1809–1888), referred to as the “mountain specialist”, at the Vienna Academy. In 1875, he moved to Paris, where he evolved his art inspired especially by the plein-air painting of representatives of the Barbizon School, an artists’ colony in the Forest of Fontainebleau. Rendering weather and light conditions became a central theme in his oeuvre.

AGW, 2023