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Antoine Chintreuil was born in Bourg en Bresse. In 1838, he left to go and live in Paris. He entered the studio of the romantic and history painter Paul Delaroche in 1842. He was not to stay with Paul Delaroche though, as his true teacher was to be Jean Baptiste Camille Corot. Corot was to have an enormous influence on him. In fact, Chintreuil referred to himself throughout his whole life as Corot’s pupil. Corot introduced him to the technique of painting in ‘plein air,’ and thereafter Chintreuil began to paint outside in nature.

He did not immediately achieve success, and was rejected a number of times by the Salon before his first painting was accepted in 1847. He was given a great deal of support in the early days of his career by the songwriter Pierre-Jean de Beranger, and the art critic Champfleury. Pierre-Jean de Beranger bought a number of his paintings, and also persuaded the French state to buy some of them.

In 1850, Chintreuil joined a small community of landscape painters at Igny in the Bievre valley, southwest of Paris. It was here that he became good friends with the landscape painter Charles Daubigny. Soon afterwards, he moved to the village of Septeuil, near the town of Mantes. It was here that he produced magnificent paintings such as, ‘Last Rays of Sun on a Field of Sainfoin.’

It is said that Chintreuil’s paintings were the precursor to Impressionism. He was very concerned with the effect of the light and also atmospheric differences during different times of the day. He was not interested in portraying a picturesque version of nature, but more so with portraying it as it really was. His mentor and great teacher Corot said, ‘We must never forget to envelop reality in the atmosphere it first had when it burst upon our view. Whatever the size, whatever the object, the artist must first submit to his first impression.’

Chintreuil was certainly influenced by the words of Corot. The titles of his paintings alone give a clue to his interests in different atmospheric conditions, such as, ‘Morning Fog,’ and ‘The Evening Haze.’ His friend and art critic Champfleury referred to him as the painter of, ‘the fog and dewdrops.’

The painting, ‘House on the Cliffs near Fecamp,’ is a perfect example of Chintreuil’s style of painting. The modest subject matter of the painting and the sensitive treatment of the light are typical of his work.

Impressionist painters such as Claude Monet were greatly influenced by the work of artists such as Antoine Chintreuil. The painting, ‘Last Rays of Sun on a Field of Sanfoin,’ which hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is a good example of a painting that came very close to the Impressionist style. It shows the countryside with peasants and the dazzling light effects as its focus. The Sanfoin which is a pink herb used to feed the animals has its own light and focus. It is as a consequence of paintings such as these that his work has been defined as a precursor to Impressionism.

Chintreuil is a very important nineteenth century artist, not only because of his talent, but also because of his anticipation of what was to come, in terms of the future of art and painting. In the Salon of 1870, upon seeing his work, the French writer Emile Zola said,

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