TROYON, Constant
(b. 1810, Sèvres, d. 1865, Paris)

Setting off to Market

1859
Oil on canvas, 261 x 211 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Animals became frequent elements in Troyon's paintings after the late 1840s, when he discovered to his delight the Dutch animal painters, especially Paulus Potter. The haze of a summer morning hangs over this landscape and invests it with a lightness reminiscent of Corot; it anticipates Impressionism later in the century but, on such a large canvas, comes across more as a decorative effect.