Constant Troyon

French (1810-1865)

Born in Sevres, France in 1810, Constant Troyon began his career as a porcelain painter, but frequently traveled throughout France to paint the countryside. Troyon first exhibited in the Paris Salon in 1833, and later befriended Theodore Rousseau and Jules Dupre, traveling and painting with them in Fontainbleau, where he was introduced to the Barbizon tradition. The Barbizon painters were a group of naturalist painters fascinated by the change of light and seasons, and were revolutionary in their attention to nature as a subject in and of itself.

In 1846, Troyon was awarded a first class medal at the Salon, after which he began to concentrate on animal paintings. He was very successful as an animal painter, and became the first Barbizon painter to gain widespread acceptance. Exhibitions of his works were held in London, Manchester, Brussels, Vienna, Antwerp and The Hague, and his works are held in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Boston Museum of Fine Art, Musee D’Orsay, Paris, as well as many others throughout Europe.

Troyon’s paintings of animals, with the animals in their natural surroundings, are characterized by a balance of color, line and composition.