Explore Forest in Boisrémond

Read About This Drawing by Théodore Rousseau

Théodore Rousseau thought trees were almost like people. He called his tree drawings “portraits,” just like a portrait of a person! He even called trees “beings,” as if they were alive and had feelings.

This drawing of a path through an old forest shows how much he loved nature. He used zigzag lines of chalk to make the hillside look rough and bumpy. The ground slopes downhill from the left side of the drawing all the way down to the bottom right corner. On the right side, you can see a curving creek that leads your eye to a tiny town with a church far away in the distance. On the left side of the path, there is a small person standing there. That tiny person helps us understand just how big and tall everything else in the drawing really is!

The Barbizon School artists were some of the very first artists to go outside and draw from real life, which is called en plein air, a French phrase that means “outdoors.” Instead of staying inside and making up a scene from their imagination, they packed up their art tools and headed outside.

Rousseau drew the trees the way they truly looked, giving them shape and texture. He even made tiny little chalk strokes to show leaves on the branches. But the most special part of the drawing is one big, old, bumpy tree on the left side. Rousseau gave it extra attention, and it stands out as the star of the whole drawing!

Questions

Write or discuss your responses.

• When you first look at this drawing, what do you notice right away?
• Pick one tree in the drawing and look at it closely. What kinds of lines did Rousseau use to draw it?
• Now look at the background—the part far away in the distance. What kinds of lines did Rousseau use to draw those details?
• Rousseau called his tree drawings “portraits.” After looking at this drawing, why do you think he used that word?
• Why did the Barbizon artists like to work outside instead of in a studio? Use clues from the reading to help explain your answer.

A group of artists in 19th‑century France who worked in and around the village of Barbizon near the Forest of Fontainebleau. These artists often drew and painted outdoors (en plein air), focusing on real trees, fields, and everyday rural life rather than imaginary or dramatic scenes. Their careful study of nature helped inspire later art movements like Impressionism.

A French term meaning painting outdoors in natural light instead of in a studio.

Artworks showing what a specific person looks like. A portrait may look a lot like a person or show idealized characteristics.