DIAZ, NARCISSE VIRGILE French painter of the Barbizon school, was born in Bordeaux of Spanish parents, on Aug. 25, 1809. At first a figure-painter who indulged in strong colour, in his later life Diaz became a painter of the forest and a "tone artist" of the first order. He had an unhappy childhood. He lost a leg through a badly dressed insect-bite, and worked for some time as a porcelain painter at Sevres. About 1831 Diaz encountered Theodore Rousseau, for whom he entertained a great veneration, although Rousseau was four years his junior. Ten years later Diaz found Rousseau painting his wonderful forest pictures, and determined to paint in the same way if possible. Rousseau was touched with the passionate words of admiration, and finally taught Diaz all he knew. Diaz exhibited many pictures at the Paris Salon, and was decorated in 185i. After 1871 he became fashionable and he worked constantly and successfully. In 1876 he caught cold at his son's grave, and on Nov. 18 of that year he died at Mentone. Diaz's finest pictures are his forest scenes and storms. There are several fairly good examples of his work in the Louvre, and three small figure pictures in the Wallace collection, Hertford House, London. Perhaps the most notable of Diaz's works are "La Fee aux Perles" (1857), in the Louvre; "Sunset in the Forest" (1868) ; "The Storm," and "The Forest of Fontainebleau" (187o) at Leeds. Diaz had no well-known pupils, but Leon Richet followed markedly his methods of tree painting, and J. F. Millet at one period painted small figures in avowed imitation of Diaz's then popular subjects.
See A. Hustin, Les Artistes celebres: Diaz; J. Claretie, Peintres et sculpteurs contemporains: Diaz (1882) ; D. Croal Thomson, The Bar bizon School of Painters (189o) ; J. W. Mollett, Diaz (189o).