Provenance
J. Grant Morris, Allerton Priory, Woolton, Liverpool; (his sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 23-25 April 1898, 1st day, no. 126); (Arthur Tooth & Sons, London); transferred April 1901 to their New York office;[1] private collection, Chicago, by 1927; by descent to private collection, California; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, New York, 25 May 1995, no. 216, as _The Ferry Crossing_); purchased through (Wildenstein & Co., New York) by NGA.
[1] Stock books of Arthur Tooth & Sons, London, at the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles. See letters dated 20 September 1996 and 14 October 1996 from The Getty Provenance Index, in NGA curatorial files.
Accession Number
1995.42.1
Medium
oil on canvas on board
Dimensions
overall: 116.2 x 157.5 cm (45 3/4 x 62 in.) | framed: 159.4 x 199.7 x 17.8 cm (62 3/4 x 78 5/8 x 7 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Chester Dale Fund
Tags
Painting Neoclassical & Romantic (1751–1850) Oil Painting Canvas Board French
Background & Context
Background Story
Constant Troyon (1810-1865) was one of the leading painters of the Barbizon School, best known for his animal paintings but equally accomplished as a landscape painter. The Approaching Storm from 1849 shows his landscape abilities at their most dramatic: a sky darkening with storm clouds, the landscape below responding to the changing atmospheric conditions, and the sense of imminent transformation that an approaching storm produces. The small format (canvas on board) concentrates the dramatic effect, compressing the vast sky and the threatened landscape into an intimate space that intensifies the emotional impact.
Cultural Impact
The 1840s and 1850s were the period when the Barbizon painters were most interested in atmospheric effects—storm skies, changing light, and the transient conditions that distinguish one moment from the next. Troyon's Approaching Storm participates in this tradition, demonstrating the Barbizon painters' commitment to painting directly from nature and capturing the specific rather than the ideal.
Why It Matters
The Approaching Storm is Troyon's landscape at its most dramatic: a sky about to break, a landscape bracing for rain, and the unmistakable tension of a moment about to change. The small format concentrates the drama, making the storm feel closer and more immediate than it would in a larger painting.
