The drawings in the open air. Variations of drawings from nature in the first half of the nineteenth century

Exhibition"Drawings in the open air. Variations of drawings from nature in the first half of the XIX century" demonstrates the heterogeneity of French drawings "based on" or "from nature", with special emphasis on the leading artists of the country in that period – Delacroix, Corot, Chasseriau de Valenciennes and Daubigny – and also less famous artists such as printmaker Bleri.

The Louvre, with the support of the National library of France and the musée d'orsay gathered more than 100 drawings and prints, as well as thirty books, albums.

Practice drawing EN plein air was first documented in France in the seventeenth century, became widespread in the following century, and in XIX was considered an integral part of the training of every young artist. In the end, it took an extremely important place in the history of painting. This value was vague and included drawings based on observations, scientific drawings, sketches, architectural studies, military sketches, drawings from memory, the road notes or the fuzzy outlines of fleeting impressions.

Gradually they came to be regarded as independent works of art. This change of perception led to the publication of "a Journey in a boat" (1861) by Charles Daubigny – a collection of sketches made during his trips on the rivers Seine and Oise on Board the boat.