National Galleries of Scotland

Barbizon School

The Barbizon School were an informal group of artists who were active between about 1830-1870. The most important members of the group were Jean-François Millet, Théodore Rousseau, Charles Jacque, Jules Dupré and Constant Troyon. Both Camille Corot and Charles Daubigny were also associated with the group. The artists would gather to paint in the forest of Fontainebleau near the village of Barbizon, a name which later historians used to refer to them. They rejected the melancholic romantic landscapes favoured by bourgeois patrons, and instead sought greater realism in their work by drawing directly from nature. Some of their rural imagery of woodland, peasants and livestock was inspired by Dutch seventeenth century painting.

Composition

The arrangement of different elements in a work of art.

Hague school

A group of Dutch painters working in The Hague in the second half of the 19th century, painting in subdued colours to convey the atmosphere and impression of moment in their works.

Royal Academy

An independent institution founded in 1768 with Sir Joshua Reynolds as its first president. It is governed by the Royal Academicians - leading painters, sculptors, printmakers and architects, which number no more than 80 at one time. It organises exhibitions at its London galleries, including an annual Summer Exhibition.