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Source Description
The Oak Tree and the Reed illustrates the fable of the same name by the 17th-century French writer Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695). Having disdainfully pitied the reed for bending before the wind, the oak is shown torn from the earth by a terrific north wind. Focusing upon the uprooted oak, Daubigny created a violently expressive treatment of the subject. The bold dappling of lights and darks below is set off by the intense blue of the clouds encroaching upon the land from the left. The diagonal streaks of thin-ly applied gray wash above suggest driving rain.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
166636
label
The Oak Tree and the Reed
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
166636
contentType
drawing
title
The Oak Tree and the Reed
description
The Oak Tree and the Reed illustrates the fable of the same name by the 17th-century French writer Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695). Having disdainfully pitied the reed for bending before the wind, the oak is shown torn from the earth by a terrific north wind. Focusing upon the uprooted oak, Daubigny created a violently expressive treatment of the subject. The bold dappling of lights and darks below is set off by the intense blue of the clouds encroaching upon the land from the left. The diagonal streaks of thin-ly applied gray wash above suggest driving rain.
date
c. 1873
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79997165
creators
1626
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Sheet: 29.3 x 23 cm (11 9/16 x 9 1/16 in.)
cul
France, 19th century
accession
2008.357
Source extras
tec
blue, gray, and black wash, and graphite
tombstone
The Oak Tree and the Reed, c. 1873. Charles François Daubigny (French, 1817–1878). Blue, gray, and black wash, and graphite; sheet: 29.3 x 23 cm (11 9/16 x 9 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Muriel Butkin, 2008.357
supportMaterials
description
cream wove paper
collection
DR - French
inscriptions
inscription
signed, lower right, in brown ink: à mon ami Giacomelli / C Daubigny
citations
citation
Hotel Drouot, Paris. <em>Tableaux, dessins et aquarelles...la Collection de feu H. Giacomelli, Artiste-Peintre</em>. April 13-15, 1905. Lot 71.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 17
citation
Shepherd Gallery. <em>Non-Dissenters; One Hundred and Seventy French Nineteenth Century Drawings, Pastels and Watercolors. November 1, through December 31, 1976</em>. Exh. Cat. New York: Shepherd Gallery, 1976.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 49
citation
Foster, Carter E., Sylvain Bellenger, and Patrick Shaw Cable. <em>French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin</em>. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001.
page_number
Mentioned: cat. no. 49, p. 108-109; Reproduced: p. 109
creditline
Bequest of Muriel Butkin
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:36:22.962000
sourceId
166636
dept
Drawings
coll
DR - French
med
blue, gray, and black wash, and graphite
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
509e89ca40912c2c