Johan Barthold Jongkind, (1819 – 1891) was born in Lattrop, Netherlands and died in Côte-Saint-André, France. He was a printmaker and painter whose informal and small landscapes continued the tradition of the landscapists of the Dutch while at the same time motivating the development of Impressionism. Jongkind first studied at The Hague under the local landscape painters. In 1846 he decided to move to Paris where he worked under François Picot and Eugène Isabey who was a genre painter. In 1848 and in 1852, he exhibited at the Salon, where he received a medal. Charles-François Daubigny and Camille Corot appreciated his paintings, but his work owes more to the 17th-century Dutch landscapists who were atmosphere-conscious than to his French contemporaries. As his subjects he chose scenic old quarters of Paris, scenes along the banks of the Seine River, views of the Dutch canals and the seacoast of Normandy.
In 1863, his work was accepted for exhibition at the Salon, he then joined in the Salon of Refused where he met Monet Claude, the pioneer of Impressionism. Monte learned much from his study of fleeting effects of reflections and light and his rendering of atmosphere. Jongkind decided to settle at Côte Saint André in 1878 where he continued to paint the scenes of ports and seacoasts for which he is famous. Unfortunately, the artist started suffering from a persecution complex, and spent most of his earnings on drink, accumulated debts and started avoiding creditors. Come 1891, Jongkind died in a mental institution.
