Landscape Study with Clouds
ca. 1829–31
Medium
Oil on cardboard
Dimensions
5 7/8 x 9 1/16 in. (15 x 23 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Wolfe Fund, 2011
Accession Number
2011.597
Tags
Art Historical Context
Émile Loubon's *Landscape Study with Clouds*ca. 1829–31) captures the fleeting beauty of nature in a compact oil on cardboard, measuring just 5 7/8 x 9 1/16 inches. Painted when the artist was in his early twenties, this intimate sketch reflects the Romantic era's fascination with atmospheric effects, particularly the dynamic play of clouds against a vast sky. Loubon, a French painter later associated with the Barbizon school, honed his skills through direct observation outdoors, foreshadowing the plein-air tradition that would influence Impressionism. The choice of cardboard as a support was...