22 Works, August 20th. is Narcisse Virgilio Díaz's day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #197

Narcissus Virgile Diaz de la Peña

Men in Oriental Costumes, circa 1845

Oil on panel

18 3/4 x 11 in. (47.63 x 27.94 cm)

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Narcisse Virgilio Díaz de la Peña (20 August 1807 – 18 November 1876) was a French painter of the Barbizon school.

Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña, French, 1807-1876

Turkish Mother and Child, ca. 1844-1860

Oil on composition board

9 1/2 x 7 13/16 in. (24.1 x 19.8 cm)

Brooklyn Museum

Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña (French, 1807-1876)

Dix bohémiennes descendant un chemin/ The Descent of the Bohemians

Oil on panel

12 ½ x 9 5/8 in. (31.8 x 24.4 cm.)

Private collection

Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña (French, 1808–1876)

Mère et jeunes enfants bohémiens/ Mother and young bohemian children

Oil on panel

24 x 16.5 cm. (9.4 x 6.5 in.)

Private collection

Diaz was born in Bordeaux to Spanish parents. At the age of ten, Diaz became an orphan, and misfortune dogged his early years. His foot was bitten by a reptile in Meudon wood, near Sèvres, where he had been taken to live with some friends of his mother. The bite was poorly dressed, and ultimately he lost his leg. However, as it turned out, the wooden stump that replaced his leg became famous.

Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña (1807–1876)

Nymph Bathing

Oil on wood

H 22.8 x W 15.2 cm

Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds Museums and Galleries

A nymph in Greek mythology and in Latin mythology is a minor female nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different from other goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing; their amorous freedom sets them apart from the restricted and chaste wives and daughters of the Greek polis.

A dryad is a tree nymph, specifically the nymphs of oak trees. The dryads of ash trees were called the Meliai... More on Nymph of the Woods

Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña (1807–1876)

Nymphs and Satyrs

Oil on panel

H 30.2 x W 40.6 cm

The Fitzwilliam Museum

In Greek mythology, a satyr is the member of a troop of ithyphallic male companions of Dionysus; they usually have horse-like ears and tails, as well as permanent, exaggerated erections. Early artistic representations sometimes include horse-like legs, but, in 6th-century BC black-figure pottery, human legs are the most common. The faun is a similar woodland-dwelling creature from Roman mythology, which had the body of a man, but the legs, horns, and tail of a goat. In myths, both are often associated with pipe-playing. Greek-speaking Romans often used the Greek term saturos when referring to the Latin faunus, and eventually syncretized the two (the female "Satyresses" were a later invention of poets). They are also known for their focus on sexual desires. They were characterized by the desire to have sexual intercourse with as many women as possible, known as satyriasis. 

They often attempted to seduce or rape nymphs and mortal women alike, usually with little success. More on a satyr

Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña (1807–1876)

Four Nymphs in a Wood

Oil on canvas

H 25.4 x W 38.1 cm

Towneley Hall Art Gallery & Museum

Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña (1807–1876)

Nymph Reclining in a Wood

Oil on canvas

H 31.1 x W 26 cm

Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds Museums and Galleries

At fifteen he entered the studios at Sèvres, first working on the decoration of porcelain and later turning to painting. Turkish and Oriental scenes attracted him, and he took to painting Eastern figures dressed in richly coloured garments; many of these paintings remain extant. He also spent much time at Barbizon, near the Fontainebleau Forest (See below), where some of his most famous paintings were made.

 Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña, French, 1807-1876

Forest Scene

Oil on cradled panel, c. 1844-1860

17 11/16 x 21 5/8 in. (44.9 x 54.9 cm)

Brooklyn Museum

For Diaz, like so many of the Barbizon painters, the Fontainebleau Forest outside of Paris proved a constant source of inspiration. In these two paintings, the painter adopts a similar compositional strategy, using large trees to frame a body of water or a clearing at the center of his scene. Diaz plays with the patterns of light and shadow created by sunlight filtering through the leaves onto the forest floor. He uses thick, black strokes to define the contours of the trees, as is particularly evident in the upper left corner of Forest Scene. In his autumnal pond scene, Diaz adds a touch of incident with the presence of a wood gatherer and her canine companion. More on this painting

Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña (1807–1876)

The Forest at Fontainebleau, France, c. 1870

Oil on canvas

H 83.2 x W 116.8 cm

Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds Museums and Galleries

Attributed to Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña

The nymphs in the forest of Fontainebleau

Oil on panel (maison Vielle)

H.: 37 L.: 45 cm

Private collection

Around 1831 Díaz encountered Théodore Rousseau, for whom he possessed a great veneration, despite the fact that Rousseau was four years younger. At Fontainebleau Díaz found Rousseau painting his wonderful forest pictures, and was determined to paint in the same way if possible. However, Rousseau was then in poor health, embittered against the world, and consequently was difficult to approach. On one occasion, Diaz followed him surreptitiously to the forest, with his wooden leg hindering his advance, but he dodged around after the painter, trying to observe his method of work. After a time Díaz found a way to become friendly with Rousseau, and revealed his eagerness to understand the latter's techniques. Rousseau was touched with the passionate words of admiration, and finally taught Diaz all he knew.

Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña (French, Bordeaux 1808–1876 Menton)

Diana, c. 1849

Oil on canvas

46 1/2 x 27 3/4 in. (118.1 x 70.5 cm)

Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the Salon of 1848, Diaz exhibited a painting entitled The Departure of Diana for the Hunt, which was criticized for inept drawing. The following year, he painted this picture, larger than the first and characterized by careful draughtsmanship and a greater sense of movement. Its classical subject and high-key palette reflect the artist's interest in the works of Correggio (1489–1534) and Prud'hon (1758–1823). More on this painting

Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña (1807–1876)

Venus and Two Cupids, c. 1847

H 33.7 x W 20.6 cm

The National Gallery, London

In a vaguely wooded setting a woman traditionally identified as Venus sits with two naked cupids pressing into her lap from either side. Her face, which is deep in shadow, has been left unfinished. The legs of the cupid on the left are boldly outlined in the same dark red paint as that in Venus’s skirt.

The composition is related to a highly finished version of the same group, and forms part of Diaz’s extensive output of Venus-type figures, usually accompanied by children, which he produced from about 1846 to 1863. Despite their mythological subject matter, they were very influenced by Correggio’s depictions of the Virgin and Child. Such paintings were extremely popular with collectors. More on this painting

Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña (1807–1876)

The Education of Cupid, c.  c.1855

Oil on millboard

H 18.7 x W 11.2 cm

The Wallace Collection

Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña (1807–1876)

Venus Disarming Cupid, c. c.1855

Oil on millboard

H 19 x W 11 cm

The Wallace Collection

Díaz exhibited many pictures at the Paris Salon, and was decorated in 1851 with the rank of Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d’honneur. During the Franco-German War (1870-1871) he went to Brussels. After 1871, his works became fashionable and rose gradually in the estimation of collectors, and he worked constantly and successfully. Díaz's finest pictures are his forest scenes and storms, and it is on these that his fame rests. 

Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña (1807–1876)

Love's Messenger

Oil on canvas

H 102 x W 76 cm

Paisley Art Institute Collection, held by Paisley Museum and Art Galleries

Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña

L’Amour et la richesse/ Love and wealth

Oil on canvas

42 x 21.5 cm 

Private collection

 Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña

Folles d'amour ou la jalousie/ Crazy love or jealousy

Oil on original canvas

73,5 x 100,5 cm

Private collection

 Attributed to Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña

Jeune femme et sa suivante/ Young woman and her maid

Oil on Panel

25 x 37 cm

Private collection

There are several examples of his work in the Louvre, and three small figure pictures in the Wallace Collection, Hertford House. Perhaps the most notable of Diaz's works are "La Fée aux Perles" (1857, housed in the Louvre); "Sunset in the Forest" (1868); "The Storm" and "The Forest of Fontainebleau" (1870, housed at Leeds). The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds some two dozen works by Díaz, including another version of "The Forest of Fontainebleau," and many drawings and studies.

Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña (French, Bordeaux 1808–1876 Menton)

Figures and a Dog in a Landscape, c. 1852

Oil on wood

17 1/4 x 11 3/4 in. (43.8 x 29.8 cm)

Metropolitan Museum 

At the center of this landscape is a group of figures posed in a pyramidal arrangement borrowed from Renaissance prototypes of the Holy Family. The man, who serves as the highest point of this arrangement of figures, imitates representations of the biblical Joseph as he leans to his left and gazes at the seated woman from behind her shoulder. His attitude and simple nineteenth century peasant attire contrast to those of the woman and child, who are more elaborately dressed with soft yellow hair and contemplative, downcast gazes. The two female figures look to the attentive and loyal dog who sits in the leftmost foreground before a pool of water. More on this painting

Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña (1807–1876)

Girl with Flowers

Oil on panel

H 34.7 x W 22.7 cm

The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum

Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña, French, 1807-1876

Four Spanish Maidens, c. 1844-1860

Oil on panel

10 5/8 x 8 1/2 in. (27.0 x 21.6 cm)

Brooklyn Museum

Diaz himself had no well-known pupils, but François Visconti emulated his work to some degree and Léon Richet followed markedly his methods of tree-painting. For a period, Jean-François Millet also painted small figures in avowed imitation of Diaz's then popular subjects. Renoir once said "my hero was Díaz". In 1876, while visiting his son's grave, he caught a cold. He went to Menton in an attempt to recover his health, but on November 18 of that year he died. More on Narcisse Virgilio Díaz

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