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View near Epernon
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot·1850/1860
Historical Context
Corot's View near Epernon from 1850-1860 shows him painting in the region of the Beauce, the vast wheat-growing plain west of Paris that he visited repeatedly. By the 1850s, Corot had become the most respected landscape painter in France — admired by younger artists like the Impressionists who would cite him as a formative influence — and his nature studies combined the disciplined outdoor observation of his Italian training with a specifically French atmospheric quality that defined the Barbizon movement's achievement. The Epernon region's open plains and modest wooded areas provided material perfectly suited to his subtle tonal approach.
Technical Analysis
Corot's mature technique is characterized by soft, feathery brushwork and a silvery-green palette that creates an atmospheric, dreamlike quality. The trees are rendered with delicate, varied touches that suggest foliage without defining individual leaves. The overall effect is of gentle, diffused light filtering through a humid atmosphere.
Provenance
(Sale, Paris, 3 May 1876, 1,200 francs). (Sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 29 January 1877, no. 11, as _Laboureur et cavalier dans la campagne_, 520 francs).[1] (Marchand sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 31 March 1890, no. 13 as _La Charrue_, 7,000 francs); purchased by Foinard.[2] (Galerie Georges Petit, Paris); sold 1891 to Peter A.B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania;[3] inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park; gift 1942 to NGA. [1] 1876 and 1877 sales per _Pictures in the Collection of P.A.B. Widener of Elkins Park Pennsylvania_, W. Roberts, ed. (privately printed: 1915). Lugt lists five Paris sales for 3 May 1876 and six sales for 29 January 1977; of these, only one is available in the U.S., Hôtel Drouot, _Tableaux Modernes_, which includes works by Corot. Number 11 in this sale has almost the same dimensions as the NGA painting. [2] Annotated sales catalogue in NGA curatorial files. [3] _Pictures in the Collection of P.A.B. Widener of Elkins Park Pennsylvania_, W. Roberts, ed. (privately printed: 1915).
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