Daubigny, Drawings for the Voyage en Bateau

12 . Le Bateau Atelier The Studio on the Boa t Pen and ink on papier calque , 4 1 ⁄ 2

by 6 3 ⁄ 8

inches ( 11 . 4 by 16 . 3 cm)

This is the most memorable image in Le Voyage en Bateau album. It makes several statements about the artist’s objectives in painting from a boat. By painting from the moored Botin, Daubigny could create more interesting compositions and better observe the light and the landscape from dawn to dusk. In the etching, Daubigny hid messages inscribed on the back of the canvases stacked on the right side of the composition. “ Le travail tient l’âme en joie ” (“Work makes the soul joyous”) gives us insight into Daubigny’s working habits; 7 Realisme may be a response to critics who praised Daubigny’s skillful rendering of water. In fact, the cartoonist Félix Nadar, who purchased Daubigny’s 1859 painting Les Bords de l’Oise  (now in Bordeaux) made a cartoon that year showing a man standing in front of it at the Salon. The man had taken off his clothes and was in his shorts, preparing to dive into the picture for a swim.

Henriet, 1862

7

Drawing, Musée du Louvre rf5328

Etching, Delteil 111