Charles François Daubigny Sketchbook
As a leading artist of the Barbizon school, Daubigny was committed to naturalism and often worked outdoors, either on land or from a boat he converted into a floating studio. This proclivity was appreciated by a circle of younger artists who would come to be known as the Impressionists. In addition to working as a landscape painter, in the 1830s and -40s Daubigny created illustrations for books, magazines, and travel guides. Advancements in both the national railway system and affordable book printing created a demand for guidebooks to accompany travelers as they discovered this still-new mode of exploration. Daubigny's sketchbook documents sites on rail journeys made between Paris, Rouen, and Le Havre in ca. 1847. Some of the sketches depicting the architecture and lively human bustle of the train stations, and the waterways, cities, and landscapes the artist passed through, served as the basis for engraved plates that chronicled the world awaiting the intrepid rail traveler.
Follow Daubigny on his voyages by paging through the sketchbook.
The sketchbook will be on view June 16 through October 22, 2023 in the exhibition Into the Woods: French Drawings and Photographs from the Karen B. Cohen Gift.
Charles François Daubigny (1817–1878)
Sketchbook, ca. 1847
Graphite, with 47 drawings on 94 pages
The Morgan Library & Museum, gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp; 2010.105
Thumbnails
Front cover
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Inside front cover–Folio 1 recto
Sketch of a Moorish Architectural Detail, with inscriptions by Ernest Bourdin
Rouen Station
On this end leaf, Bourdin lists the subjects depicted, and includes a note to a friend requesting that Daubigny be made welcome at the Lillebonne hotel in Le Havre.
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 1 verso–2 recto
Sketch of a Figure Framed in a Doorway or Window
Rouen Station seen from the Stone Bridge
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 2 verso–3 recto
View of Tracks at the Rue Verte Station, Rouen
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 3 verso–4 recto
Façade of Rue Verte Station, Rouen
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 4 verso–5 recto
View of St. Catherine Tunnel and Léveillé Factory, Rouen
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 5 verso–6 recto
Smoking Room of a Café (Estaminet Chellard)
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 6 verso–7 recto
Study of a Statue and a Building
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 7 verso–8 recto
Harbor at Rouen with the Grand Hôtel d'Angleterre
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 8 verso–9 recto
View of Malaunay Viaduct, Rouen
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 9 verso–10 recto
View of Malaunay Viaduct, Rouen
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 10 verso–11 recto
View of Barentin Viaduct
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 11 verso–12 recto
View of Pavilly Station
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 12 verso–13 recto
View of Barentin Viaduct from Pavilly
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 13 verso–14 recto
Yvetot Station
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 14 verso–15 recto
Study of a Viaduct
View of Barentin Viaduct
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 15 verso–16 recto
View of Mirville Viaduct Beside Bolbec
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 16 verso–17 recto
View of Mirville Viaduct
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 17 verso–18 recto
Landscape with Mirville Viaduct
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 18 verso–19 recto
Landscape with a View of Mirville Viaduct Beside Bolbec
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 19 verso–20 recto
Road to Harfleur
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 20 verso–21 recto
Harfleur Station
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 21 verso–22 recto
Harfleur Station
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 22 verso–23 recto
View of Le Havre
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 23 verso–24 recto
Le Havre Station
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 24 verso–25 recto
View of Train Tracks and Sheds, probably Le Havre
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 25 verso–26 recto
View of Déville-les-Rouen
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 26 verso–27 recto
View of Sotteville, with the bridge over the Seine and the Tunnel alongside the Church of St. Catherine
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 27 verso–28 recto
Montmartre and its Workshops, View of the Fortifications
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 28 verso–29 recto
Theater in Le Havre
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 29 verso–30 recto
Interior of the Gare du Nord
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 30 verso–31 recto
Courtyard of Le Havre Station
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 31 verso–32 recto
Railroad Sheds
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 32 verso–33 recto
Fragment of Harbor Sketch
Railroad Station Buildings with Ships in the Harbor
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 33 verso–34 recto
Place François Ier, Le Havre: Museum Library, Clock Store, Currency Exchange, Billiards
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 34 verso–35 recto
Sketches of a Port and a Building
Commercial Port, Le Havre
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 35 verso–36 recto
Backyard of Madame Dautel's Boarding School, Bourg-la-Reine
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 36 verso–37 recto
Exterior of the Gare du Nord, Paris
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 37 verso–38 recto
Interior of the Gare du Nord, Paris
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 38 verso–39 recto
Vestibule of the Gare du Nord, Paris
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 39 verso–40 recto
Panoramic View of Lake Enghien
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 40 verso–41 recto
Entrance to Enghien Park
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 41 verso–42 recto
Kiosk in Enghien Park
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 42 verso–43 recto
Enghien Station
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 43 verso–44 recto
View of Montmorency
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 44 verso–45 recto
St. Denis Station
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 45 verso–46 recto
Sketch of a Man Playing the Piano
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folios 46 verso–47 recto
Landscape
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Folio 47 verso–inside back cover
Calculations, Perspective Diagram, Sketch of a Covered Wagon, List of Subjects for Guinot's 1847 Enghien et la vallée de Montmorency
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp
Back cover
Gift of Karen B. Cohen in memory of Charles Ryskamp