Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

Bardon (acquired from the artist in 1874)

Malinet, Paris (acquired from the above in 1877)

Hoschede, Paris (by 1883)

Arnold & Tripp, Paris (circa 1886)

Galerie Ernest Le Roy, Paris (1886)

Knoedler Gallery, New York (circa 1890)

Joseph Jefferson (sold: Mendelssohn Hall, New York, April 4, 1906)

Private Collection, United States

Richard Green Gallery, London (1993)

Private Collection, United Kingdom

Noortman Master Paintings, Maastricht

Acquired from the above

Alfred Robaut & Etienne Moreau-Nélaton, L'Oeuvre de Corot, vol. III, Paris, 1965, no. 2171, catalogued p. 306, illustrated p. 307

The canvas is lined. Under ultra-violet light a couple of tiny spots of retouching are visible in the upper left, along the top edge and in the upper right corner, but there is essentially no restoration to the composition. Overall, this picture is in outstanding condition.
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.
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Following the Franco Prussian War, Corot took refuge in the peaceful, natural surroundings of the French countryside.  In February 1871, he wrote to his fellow painter, Le Rochenoire: "I have turned out more work than usual.  The plight of our country, it seems, has driven me to take cover under the vault of heaven and a roof of leafage, and to hunt out the best places for listening to the concert of the birds." (quoted in J. Leymarie, Corot, Geneva, 1985, p. 143).  This sentiment also was repeated by the art critic, Jules Castagnary, in his review of the 1872 Salon:  "Landscape remains the strength and glory of our French school....there are still enough beautiful examples to prove to foreigners that we have not degenerated, at least not in this area."(J. Castagnary, "Salon de 1872," in Salons (1857-1870, 1872-1879), Paris, 1892, vol. I, pp. 26-28).  After the violence of the Paris Commune, there was an understandable return to the purity and solitude of nature, and Corot's pastoral landscape paintings were the perfect remedy for what ailed France at this fragile time in its history.

The present work was painted during this period and may be dated around 1872-1873.  It represents one of Corot's last depictions of his family's residence at Ville-d'Avray, which served as both his home in the country and a subject for his paintings.  Corot's first visit to Ville-d'Avray was shortly after 1817, when his parents purchased the property.  He returned there on many occasions throughout his lifetime, where he had a room on the third floor with a view of the lake.   Because Ville-d'Avray was a regular destination for Corot, many paintings exist of this bucolic locale, with each new interpretation corresponding to a new style.  As a favorite setting, Ville-d'Avray provided Corot with a perpetual subject to explore his landscape technique; it was to Corot what Giverny was to Monet and Pontoise was to Pissarro.   It is impossible to determine if Corot's views of Ville-d'Avray were painted en plein-air, or if his memory of the place – its trees, houses, paths and pond - was so etched in his mind that he was able to exactly recreate the setting back in his studio.  Occasionally, it was a combination of a painting being started outside and finished in his studio, such as his Salon entry of 1872 depicting a forest setting behind the property at Ville-d'Avray (Robaut, no. 2038).