L’ Automne c. 1864

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes made this oil on canvas titled 'L' Automne' in France, though we don't know precisely when. Puvis de Chavannes was an establishment figure in the French art world, producing many paintings for public buildings in Paris and elsewhere. This work, ‘Autumn,’ uses classical allegorical figures to suggest the plenty associated with the fall harvest. The scene evokes a classical Arcadia, but note the somewhat muted tones and flattened space. Puvis was admired by artists associated with the Symbolist movement and others seeking an alternative to both academic art and Impressionism. His paintings, such as this one, may appear to evoke timeless values, but were actually quite modern in their visual language. To fully appreciate the ways that Puvis appealed to and diverged from tradition, one might study the critical reception of his public commissions and also the responses of younger artists to his aesthetic innovations.