Jules Bastien-Lepage

Jules Bastien-Lepage painted peasants and rural life in a naturalistic style, with figures painted in the open air in soft, grey daylight. His work was hugely influential, and painters across Europe and America followed his example.

Born in Damvillers in north-east France, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Alexandre Cabanel. His Haymaking of 1878, now in the Musée d’Orsay, shows a tired peasant woman resting in a field, and his Joan of Arc of 1880 is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He also painted portraits, including one of Sarah Bernhardt. He died young, at 36.

Look for his careful faces, painted with great detail, set against looser, sketchy backgrounds.