Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

Knoedler, New York, no. 30641 and 30998
Sir John D. Milburn (and sold: Christie's, London, June 10, 1909, lot 77)
David T. Watson (his estate, sold: American Art Association, New York, April 16, 1917, lot 114)
Senator Clark, New York, 1917
Wildenstein Gallery, London (by February, 1952)
Sale: Christie's, London, November 27, 1964, lot 43, illustrated
Private collection
Gifted from the above to the present owner

The two figure groups in the present painting are given more prominence in the composition than usually seen in Corot’s landscapes.  In fact, they almost add a suggestion of genre as they gather and work under the trees.  While this was a familiar scene to Corot, one that he would have seen often during his excursions into the French countryside, the painting was most likely composed in his studio.  In fact, Robaut mentions this practice in his entry for the painting in his catalogue raisonné.  Robaut also illustrates a photograph of the composition in an earlier state (R. 2044(a), thereby giving us a glimpse into Corot’s working methods.  In the final painting, the cluster of trees becomes more pronounced and Corot has added additional figures, including a peasant milking a cow; the earlier version revealed only one woman kneeling in the lower right of the composition.