Daubigny, Charles-François (shärl-fräNswä` dōbēnyē`), 1817–78, French landscape painter. He went to Italy early in life and later studied in Paris with Paul Delaroche. Although usually classed with the Barbizon school, he never lived in Barbizon. His last 30 years were spent largely in his houseboat on the Seine and the Oise, and he is best known for his pictures of the banks of those rivers. He was particularly successful in his atmospheric depiction of dawn, twilight, and moonlight. His later pictures are handled with great breadth. Monet and Boudin were especially attentive to his work. Daubigny is well represented in the Louvre, the Mesdag Museum (The Hague), the National Gallery (London), and the Metropolitan Museum. Characteristic are his Return of the Flock—Moonlight, Banks of the Oise, and Moonlight. His son

Karl Pierre Daubigny, 1846–86, painted in his father's manner.

Daubigny, Charles-François

(born Feb. 15, 1817, Paris, Fr.—died Feb. 19, 1878, Paris) French landscape painter of the Barbizon school. He was trained by his father, also a painter. He began by painting historical and religious works but soon turned to landscapes, painting rivers, beaches, and canals from a boat. His images were notable for their uncrowded composition and accurate depiction of natural light. One of the earliest proponents of painting directly from nature, he is considered the link between mid-19th-century naturalism and Impressionism.