Paysage – orée d’un bois 1935

Léon Bonnat made this landscape study with graphite, maybe even adding a bit of charcoal, as if feeling his way into the scene. You can sense him searching for the light filtering through the trees, trying to get that contrast just right, the way the shadows fall across the path. I imagine Bonnat standing there, squinting, really looking, as if trying to memorize every branch and leaf. It reminds me of those plein air painters, you know? Except Bonnat's not after a perfect likeness, but something more felt. A mood. You can see the marks, how they build up, layer upon layer, almost like he's constructing the forest right there on the page. It's interesting how Bonnat, primarily known for his portraits, turned to landscape. Like he needed to breathe, to get out of the studio and into the woods. It makes you wonder what he was thinking about as he drew those trees, each stroke a kind of meditation, a way of connecting with something bigger than himself. It's a good reminder that artists are always in dialogue, branching out, like the trees themselves.