Lot 105
  • 105

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

Estimate
500,000 - 700,000 USD
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Description

  • Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
  • LOUISE-LAURE BAUDOT
  • Oil on canvas laid down on card
  • Oval: 12 1/4 by 10 1/4 in.
  • 31 by 27cm

Provenance

Private Collection, France
Acquired from the above circa 1992

Literature

Pierre Dieterle, Martin Dieterle, Claire Lebeau, Corot, Cinquième Supplément à l'Oeuvre de Corot, Paris, 2002, no. 23, illustrated p. 27

Condition

In good condition. The surface is somewhat pressed. Under UV light, a heavy varnish layer fluoresces, but no inpainting is apparent.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

During the period between 1840 and 1845, Corot experimented with means of expressing emotion through the female figure. In the present work, the artist portrays his great-niece, Louise-Laure Baudot, the grand daughter of his sister Anette-Octavie Sennegon. As with all of his early figural works, Corot kept Louise-Laurie Baudot hidden, only selling and exhibiting these complex images of women at a much later date.  Encouraged by his close friend, Constant Dutilleux, Corot exhibited one such work, La Toilette, at the 1859 Salon and sold it that same year.  Corot apparently feared that Salon critics and the public alike, enamored of his famous landscapes, might reject these figural works.  Instead, they sold briskly throughout the 1860's to discerning collectors, who recognized the sophistication of these unprecedented images of beautifully mysterious women.  Today, these masterworks powerfully convey Corot's revelatory grasp of modern sensibilities.