19th Century European Art

19th Century European Art

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 18. JEAN-BAPTISTE-CAMILLE COROT | PAYSANNE SUR UN CHEMIN.

Property from a Private Collection, New York

JEAN-BAPTISTE-CAMILLE COROT | PAYSANNE SUR UN CHEMIN

Lot Closed

June 11, 04:18 PM GMT

Estimate

50,000 - 70,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Property from a Private Collection, New York

JEAN-BAPTISTE-CAMILLE COROT

French

1796 - 1875

PAYSANNE SUR UN CHEMIN


signed COROT (lower left)

oil on canvas

canvas: 13 ¼ by 8 ¾ in.; 33.5 by 22.1 cm

framed: 17 ¾ by 13 ⅜ in.; 45 by 34 cm

M. Diot, Paris, no. 2369

Georges Petit, Paris, no. 3103

Private Collection, France

Private Collection

Pierre Dieterle, Martin Dieterle, Claire Lebeau, Corot, Cinquième Supplément à l'Oeuvre de Corot, Paris, 2002, p. 44, no. 40, illustrated p. 45

Executed circa 1850-55, Paysanne sur un chemin is a loosely painted landscape which is emblematic of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot’s mature style. A subtle exploration of tonal contrasts, painted with great naturalness and sensitivity, the artist here conjures a sun-dappled country path extending down a precipitous hillside, travelled by a peasant momentarily at rest. In contrast to Corot's souvenirs from this period - poetic reminiscences of a particular place distilled through the artist’s imagination - Paysanne sur un chemin is inspired by the artist’s more immediate experience of the French countryside and, if not painted in the open air, at least based on direct observation.


By the late 1850s Corot was enjoying critical and popular success. More than any other artist, Corot's work, such as Paysanne sur un chemin, represents the bridge between the classical landscape of Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) and early Impressionism. Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) described himself as a pupil of Corot in the Salon brochures as a measure of respect, and other Impressionists did the same.