In the Forest at Fontainebleau

In the Forest at Fontainebleau from 1825 shows Bonington painting in the forest that would later become the outdoor studio of the Barbizon School. His direct, plein-air approach to landscape anticipated the methods that Corot, Rousseau, and other Barbizon painters would develop in the same forest a decade later. Characteristic of the artist's mature approach, the work displays luminous, atmospheric color applied with the freshness of watercolor in oil painting, alla prima technique that captured the transience of light on water and architecture.

Dappled forest light is captured with fresh, confident brushwork, the foliage rendered in varied greens and the path creating depth through atmospheric perspective.