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Antoine Williams Zarra
Barbizon Village scene ladies chatting on the street 19th century rural painting

circa 1860

About the Item

Antoine Williams Zarra (1820-1892) was an international man of mystery. When not painting in the rural village of Barbizon and its environs, he was moonlighting as a costume and set designer at the Covent Garden Italian Opera House in London! We do not know where he was born - I personally believe he was Italian or British, not French - but he was highly regarded in Paris. His portrait, drawn by Ciceri, is in the Musée Carnavalet, the Museum of the History of Paris. We know where Zarra is buried: in the cemetery of Chailly en Bière, which owes its fame to the many painters who are buried there, most of whom belonged to the Barbizon school movement. Zarra rests there alongside fellow artists such as Jean François Millet, Théodore Rousseau and Karl Bodmer. The Barbizon artists shared a key interest was landscape and the depiction of country life, and depicted their environment as it really was, without false sentimentality. This interesting feature of their work is very much in evidence in this work by Zarra: note how the village houses depicted are little more than barns. However, we also see the sense of community, village women chatting outside their homes. Our oil on board, painted in diluted oils , was almost certainly painted in plein air, on the motif, and not in the artist’s studio. It is presented in its original mid 19th century frame. 28 x 36 cm for the painting, the overall framed size is 42 x 50 cm.
  • Creator:
    Antoine Williams Zarra (1820 - 1892, French)
  • Creation Year:
    circa 1860
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 16.54 in (42 cm)Width: 19.69 in (50 cm)Depth: 1.97 in (5 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Frame with visible wear and tear and repair.
  • Gallery Location:
    Norwich, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU991312331362
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