32. Aukusti Uotila (1858-1886)

restored. Aukusti Uotila visited Barbizon together with fellow artists during the summer of 1879. The rural village of Barbizon is situated near the Forest of Fontainebleau, approximately 60 kilometres south of Paris. The renowned artists’ colony known as the Barbizon School emerged there in the 1830s, with a particular emphasis on painting outdoors, or en plein air. Its leading figures included Camille Corot, Théodore Rousseau, Jean-François Millet and Charles-François Daubigny. The artists of the Barbizon School sought to distinguish themselves from the classical academic tradition by depicting nature and rural life as they truly appeared. The figure of the girl standing beneath a tree in Uotila’s painting also appears in another work by the artist, titled Shepherd (Lammaspaimen, 1879). The painting belongs to the collections of the Finnish National Gallery, and a preparatory sketch of the girl is also known. Unlike in the Ateneum painting, where sheep occupy the scene, a farmhouse can be seen in the background. The same building appears in Uotila’s painting Vegetable Garden in Fontainebleau, which shares many compositional similarities with this work. Litterature: August Uotila 1858-1886. Appelsiinitytön maalari. Appelsinflickans målare, SKS, 2014.