François Louis Français (1814-1897) was a celebrated French landscape painter of the Barbizon School, known for idyllic scenes & masterful use of light. Explore his paintings, illustrations & connection to Corot.
Français began his career as an illustrator. He and a group of fellow graphic artists, including Célestin Nanteuil (1813–1873), published a popular series of lithographs reproducing masterpieces of painting. The first paintings that he exhibited were collaborative efforts done with Henri Baron (1816–1885) who, like Français, had studied with Jean Gigoux (1806–1894) and earned a reputation as a fine watercolorist. The most decisive influences on Français were his friendship with Corot, whom he met in 1837, and a three-year stay in Italy, from about 1846 until 1850. Both influences are evident in Gathering Olives at Tivoli. This painting and its pendant, Ruins in Italy at Sunset (location unknown), were decorative panels painted for a Parisian patron, Paul Lagarde.
