Girl with dogs

Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña's Girl with Dogs (1840s) combines the painter's characteristic interest in figures in woodland settings with the intimate domestic subject of a child with pets. Diaz, born in Bordeaux to Spanish refugees, became one of the leading painters of the Barbizon school, known for his richly colored forest scenes and small figurative works. His paintings of women and children in nature settings blend Romantic sentiment with the Barbizon commitment to plein air observation, creating images that were enormously popular with collectors for their warmth, color, and charm.

Diaz's rich, jewel-like palette and bold, spontaneous brushwork are evident in this intimate scene, with the warm, dappled light filtering through foliage characteristic of his Fontainebleau forest paintings applied to a more domestic subject.