Melting Snow, Fontainebleau

The forest of Fontainebleau is a mixed deciduous forest lying sixty kilometres southeast of Paris. It was formerly a royal hunting ground of French kings, but it became a magnet for artists in the 19th century. The forest was accessible, beautiful, and visually compelling, with a rare mix of traditional rural French villages and natural landscape features. It's best known for the informal artists’ colony centered in the village of Barbizon. You can read about them tomorrow.