Edmond Yon (1841-1897) Large riverside with birds

Edmond YON
(Montmartre 1841 - Paris 1897)
River bank with birds
Oil on canvas
H. 79.5 cm ; L. 130 cm
Signed lower right and dated 1876
Original frame

Exhibition: 1876, Salon des Artistes Français under number 2079: “Jour d'été” (“Summer day”)

Edmond Charles Joseph Yon was a French landscape painter, draughtsman and engraver, and a friend of such nature-loving artists as Théodore Rousseau, Camille Corot, Jules Dupré and Charles-François and Karl Daubigny.

In the same way as these famous painters, he loved to settle in the different landscapes of France to reveal the beauty that appears, every day, with the greatest fidelity. The details of our meticulous work invite contemplation, but also a kind of stroll through the painting. In the foreground on the left, a grey heron, hidden in the rushes, watches both its prey and the painter, whose easel must be very close by. A flock of large birds flies over the calm stream. It's hard to believe it's a migration, given the vegetation and the title “Jour d'été”...

Works by Edmond Yon are held at the Musée Carnavalet and the Musée d'Orsay, as well as in the collections of museums in Lille, Brest, Bordeaux and Auxerre.