Cows on the Banks of the Seine, at Conflans 1876

Charles François Daubigny painted "Cows on the Banks of the Seine, at Conflans" using oil on canvas. Daubigny, a 19th-century French painter, was part of the Barbizon school, which advocated painting directly from nature. At first glance, the painting seems to present a bucolic scene, with a river, trees, and grazing cows. But if we examine the place and time of the painting, we see it embodies the transformations in French society during the industrial revolution. It evokes a longing for simpler times, even as the nation moved towards urbanization. The painting can be seen as a narrative about the changing relationship between humans and the natural world. Daubigny captures a certain melancholy of the French landscape. He emphasizes the quiet and somber emotional connection to nature that reflects on the social and cultural shifts in 19th-century France.