Rousseau, Théodore

Rousseau, Théodore (1812–67). French landscape painter, the central figure of the Barbizon School. He was one of the pioneers of landscape painting in the open air (see Plein Air), and because of the non-academic outlook of his work it was for several years consistently rejected by the Salon, earning him the nickname ‘le grand refusé’ (the period during which his paintings were turned down, 1836–41, was, however, shorter than is sometimes imagined and he had earlier had several pictures accepted and even won a medal, in 1834). He first made a lengthy stay in the Forest of Fontainebleau in 1834 and he settled in Barbizon in 1848. Acclaim began to come in the 1850s, but he did not achieve financial security until near the end of his life. During the later 19th century his reputation stood very high (he was widely regarded as one of the greatest of all landscape painters), but it has subsequently declined.