Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

Monsieur de Borderieux, Paris (a friend of the artist, acquired circa 1855)
Allard et Noël, Paris (circa 1878)
Leonard Benatov, Paris (1941)
Delagrange, Paris (1947)
Ernst Gutzwiller, Paris (and sold, his sale, Sotheby's, London, June 24, 1996, lot 3, illustrated)
Acquired at the above sale

Paris, École des beaux-arts, L'Oeuvre de Corot, 1875, no. 48 (as Canal de Harlem)
Paris, Galerie Schmit, Corot, 1971, no. 29

Alfred Robaut, L'Oeuvre de Corot, catalogue Raisonné et illustré, Paris, 1905, supplement vol. II, p. 246, no. 745
André Schoeller and Jean Dieterle, Corot, Deuxième supplement a "L'Oeuvre de Corot" par A. Robaut et Moreau-Nélaton, Éditions Floury, Paris, 1956, n.p., no. 25, illustrated opposite

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This work is restored and should be hung in its current condition. The canvas has an old glue lining. The only restoration is to an L-shaped break in the canvas, measuring about 1 inch by 1 inch in the upper right sky. There is otherwise no weakness or abrasion.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Corot left for Holland with his friend and fellow artist Dutilleux on August 28, 1854. Travelling via Brussels they continued on to Antwerp the following day and arrived in Rotterdam on August 30th. Joined by Corot's nephew, the three proceeded to explore the area around Rotterdam and over the following week traveled to The Hague, Scheveningen, and Amsterdam, visiting the museums they found in each town and sketching the surrounding scenery. Dutilleux returned to Paris on September 7th, while Corot stayed on in Holland for a further week.

Reflecting the flatness of the countryside through which he traveled, the horizontal format and airy composition of the present work, incorporating such large expanses of sky and water, also suggests the influence of Daubigny on Corot's style. Between 1853 and 1854 Corot and Daubigny were particularly aware of each other's work and often painted side by side. In June 1854, just two months before Environ de Rotterdam was executed, the two artists worked together in Auvers.