NEW YORK, NY.- Throughout the ages, the humble rock has been a favorite subject for landscape painters, providing the anchor for a composition, or a palette for the artist’s experiments with color, light and texture. This was particularly true for plein-air painters in 19th century France where painting outside became a popular alternative to the more laborious, and less realistic, work of constructing landscape tableaux in the studio. The spontaneity and freshness of these preliminary studies would eventually become the end goal, as artists sought to preserve the aesthetic of the sketch in their finished works.

A perfect example can be found in this unusual work by Antoine-Louis Barye, the renowned animalier painter and sculptor, who made a handful of pure landscapes reminiscent of the work of Theodore Rousseau and Gustave Courbet. Barye has made the rock the central subject of this small lyrical painting.

Inspired by this work, we took a look at some of the paintings currently in the gallery that place rocks center stage, and considered how each artist chose their subject, and why rocks were important to each composition.


Odilon Redon, Les Landes, c. 1875, Oil on paper laid down on board, 7 1/4 x 9 inches.


Odilon Redon sought out interesting rocks when working outdoors, whether it be by the seaside or at the edge of a forest. The area of Les Landes had particular significance for Redon, who was born into a wealthy family in Bordeaux, and at only two days old was sent to a wet nurse in Peyrelebade, a village in the Médoc. He spent most of his childhood in this area, separated from his parents. This region bordering the Atlantic and stretching from the Gironde to the Landes, is famous for the high quality of the vineyards, but is also defined by the geological structure of sand and gravel, by a horizon stretching away into infinity and by landscapes of small villages set between moors and marshes. These wild, monotonous scenes, imbued with melancholy, became, for Redon, an introverted child with a sensitive nature, the original bewitching point of reference of his painting.


Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, À Fontainebleau, c. 1823-24, Oil on board, 8 5/8 x 13 inches.


This delightful oil sketch by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot effectively captures the enveloping warmth and brilliant sunlight of a summer’s day in the Fontainebleau forest. Located 30 miles southeast of Paris, the site was a popular destination for the Barbizon School of landscape painters in the mid-nineteenth century. Here, Corot situates the viewer at the base of a steep ridge looking up the rocky hillside, painted deep brown at the base and pale tan at the crest, indicating the characteristic sandy soil of Fontainebleau. The composition leads the viewer's eye to the top of the crest, where a humble rock is framed by clouds. Our work is an early example of an interesting and somewhat radical compositional device that Corot employed, viewing the hillside from below and at an angle.


Rachel Ricket, Hidden Valley, 2024, Oil on canvas wrapped panel, 8 1/4 x 13 1/4 inches.


Contemporary artist Rachel Rickert is a modern adopter of plein-air painting. Currently based in Joshua Tree, California, her work pays homage to Western landscapes and geological formations through the tradition of working outdoors. Many of her works are made after hiking to remote locations and painting in one sitting despite weather or temperature. The conditions in which she paints are realized through the immediacy of the striking colors and brushwork, and the unique compositional perspective of each landscape.

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