L'ecluse d'Optevoz, um 1854/55

CommentaryThe area around of the Optevoz locks near Lyon was a popular day trip destination.  Daubigny and his friend Gustav Courbet both made use of this motif a number of times.  In September 1854, both artists were staying in the region and probably painted the picturesque landscape at the same time.  In front of the cliff dominating the painting you can see the old-fashioned lock, like a two storey viaduct, built over a stream flowing into a flat stretch of water.  Above the cliffs, a few leafy trees rise towards the horizon.  Only herds of animals and shepherds are missing from this bucolic landscape scene.  It is possible that Courbet took as model for this work Daubigny's version of 'Ecluse dans la vallée d'Optevoz (today in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rouen) shown at the Paris World Exhibition of 1855, and for which he received a third class medal. 

The area around of the Optevoz locks near Lyon was a popular day trip destination.  Daubigny and his friend Gustav Courbet both made use of this motif a number of times.  In September 1854, both artists were staying in the region and probably painted the picturesque landscape at the same time.  In front of the cliff dominating the painting you can see the old-fashioned lock, like a two storey viaduct, built over a stream flowing into a flat stretch of water.  Above the cliffs, a few leafy trees rise towards the horizon.  Only herds of animals and shepherds are missing from this bucolic landscape scene.  It is possible that Courbet took as model for this work Daubigny's version of 'Ecluse dans la vallée d'Optevoz (today in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rouen) shown at the Paris World Exhibition of 1855, and for which he received a third class medal.