Constant Troyon
French, 1810–1865
Oxen Plowing
1860
Troyon’s painting shows a young plowman steering six large oxen ahead of a gathering storm. This work is a scaled-down version of a much larger painting that earned lavish praise when the artist exhibited it at the Universal Exposition of 1855 in Paris. Prolific and adept at disseminating his work, Troyon had a long and successful career as a painter of country scenes.
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 38 1/4 x 51 1/8 in. (97.2 x 129.8 cm) |
| Object Number | 1955.56 |
| Acquisition | Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955 |
| Status | Off View |
Image Caption
Constant Troyon, Oxen Plowing, 1860, oil on canvas. Clark Art Institute, 1955.56
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EUROPEAN PAINTINGS CATALOGUE ENTRY
Provenance
Probably Frederic Boucheron, Paris (by 1883–d. 1902); probably Louis Boucheron, his son, by descent (1902–35, his sale, Galerie Jean Charpentier, Paris, 28 May 1935, no. 10, ill., as Boeufs au labour, sold to Knoedler);¹ [Knoedler, Paris, sold to Clark, probably June 1935]; Robert Sterling Clark (1935–55); Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1955. 1. In the sale catalogue, the collection is labeled only as “appartenant a Monsieur X .” The SCIPIO database identifies the seller as Boucheron, the jeweler.
