Print Room Talk: Town and Country

Artists’ imagery reflected the changes around them in 19^th century France resulting from the population growth and industrialization in Paris and the depopulation of the countryside. City scenes emerged revealing everyday life, following Charles Baudelaire’s call to artists to paint modern life. At times mundane and unromantic, it became a worthy subject besides time-honored religious, historical, and mythological themes. At the same time, people retreated to rural areas as they felt a nostalgia for pre-industrial times. This is seen in a rise of genre and rural themes, especially images of landscapes and the peasant.

Included in the exhibition are works by Félix Buhot, Charles Daubigny, Jules Bastien-LePage, Edouard Manet, and Charles Meryon, among others.