Born in Solesme in 1847, Léon Richet was of the generation of painters raised during the height of the Barbizon School.  He studied under Ambroise Détrez at Valenciennes Academy before becoming a student of Narcisse-Virgile Díaz de la Peña (French, 1807-1876).  He later studied in Paris with Jules Lefebvre and Gustave Boulanger.  Richet collaborated with Lefebvre on several paintings, with the figures being contributed by Lefebvre and Richet handling the landscapes. 

 

Díaz de la Peña exerted the most influence on the young artist both as a mentor and tutor, as is evident in the close parallels found in their work.  But it is Lefebvre’s influence on Richet’s ability to capture light, the reflections on water and general openness in his landscapes that set his work apart from the often shadowy and atmospheric work on his contemporaries.   

 

Lefebvre introduced Richet to the Barbizon School, a group of like-minded artists working in Barbizon, France and in the Forest of Fontainebleau with an avant-garde view of the landscape. 

 

The traditionally acceptable way of capturing landscape was an over-idealized framework for historical storytelling, the landscape being a secondary element for the larger story of the painting that is often devoid of honesty and chaos.  The Barbizon School sought to rebel against this notion, their efforts aimed at attempting to capture nature and life exactly as it exists without romance or idealization. The school was active from 1830 to around 1870 and featured artists such as Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Jean-Francois Millet and Theodore Rousseau, an artist who inspired Richet considerably.

 

Richet exhibited at the Paris Salon and then at the Salon of the Société des Artistes Française starting in 1869 and continued to exhibit regularly until 1906.  He was awarded an honorable mention in 1885, a second class medal in 1888 and another second class medal in 1901.  Richet continued to exhibit until the year before his death in Fontainebleau in 1907.