Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
French, 1796 - 1875Paysage d’Italie (Landscape of Italy), ca. 1865
Not on view
Etching on paper
Dimensions10 1/2 × 13 in. (26.7 × 33 cm)
Image: 6 × 9 in. (15.2 × 22.9 cm)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gerald F. Healy, 1978.40
Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot was born in Paris in 1796. His initial training in art reflected a traditional academic approach to the principles of composition. It was during Corot’s sojourn to Italy from 1825 to 1828 that the artist became enamored with the quality of light that suffused the Italian landscape. From further travels throughout Europe, Corot developed a particular sensitivity to the atmosphere and natural beauty of the landscape. He was an early advocate of painting en plein air (outdoors), a practice that exerted a direct influence upon the subsequent generation of Impressionist artists.
Corot’s graphic art accounts for a relatively small portion of his artistic output. However, all of Corot’s artistic inclinations are present, including his preference for subdued lighting, subtle variations of line, and a somewhat romanticized atmosphere. In Paysage d’Italie, the sublime nature of the Italian landscape is enlivened by small figures who are contrasted by a somber grouping of trees that serves to frame the city afar, all set against a vibrant, rolling sky.
