Jean Baptise Camille Corot
Born – Paris, France 1796
Died – Paris, France 1875
Known as Camille Corot, this painter of landscape and portraits trained in the classical tradition of Nicholas Poussin. Corot went to Italy in 1925 and returned there several times. The sketches he made on these visits have a remarkable freshness, although these were never seen by Corot as anything other than reference material for his large compositions. The direct, bold Italiante landscapes of the early part of his career were superseded in the 1850s by hazy wooded and waterside scenes which, with their soft grey-green tones and dreamy atmosphere, found immediate favour with the French public. Recollections of Mortefontaigne was painted after a visit to the great park just north of Paris. Watteau had also gone there for inspiration. In setting this scene against the lake in the early morning, Corot evokes an air of sleepy tranquillity. The painting’s title refers to the image as a mere recollection, the painter attempts to capture this ephemeral scene as he remembers it. His late portraits and studies of women, such as Woman with a Pearl, were free of his diffuse style and are much admired.
Masterpieces:
- Peasants under the Trees at Dawn
- The Lady in Blue
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
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