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Lot Essay
Martin Dieterle has confirmed the authenticity of this painting.
By the early 1850s, Camille Corot's reputation as an artist was firmly established, having gained considerable recognition from his entries at the Paris Salons as well as the Universal Exhibition in 1855; both of which secured his position as one of the best known and respected painters of the Barbizon School.
As a result of his travels and his love of nature, landscapes constitute the main body of his artistic oeuvre. Yet, his passion for the natural world also extended to include an admiration for country peasants and local villagers. The 1850s and 1860s found Corot absorbed in intimate figure portraits which he would continue to paint late into his career. As Bazin comments, "The figure remains Corot's greatest achievement at the end of his life; this instilled in him an insatiable curiosity" (G. Bazin, Corot, Paris, 1942, pp. 58-59).
Corot did not exhibit many of these figure paintings at major exhibitions during his lifetime. Considering many of these works depicted his close friends and family, he regarded these as private momentos, and preferred to hide them away from public view. This secrecy prompted Germain Bazin to comment, "At the precise moment in which he [Corot] strikes a chord of harmony with the viewing public, he lets his emotions carry him away and feels the need to hide a living secret. There will always be in the life of a great artist like Corot, the famous "armoire secrète" (the secret cabinet), where he guards his most priceless masterpieces which he rarely ever shows" (Bazin, op. cit., pp. 58-59). Despite their concealment from public exhibition, there was a strong market for Corot's figure paintings and a select clientele was so eager to acquire them that by the end of this career, Corot had painted more than 300 figural works.
The present work, once part of the legendary Oscar Reinhart collection, is a superb example of Corot's mastery of this genre. Corot was a keen observer and sensitive chronicler of the human condition, and the present composition depicts an intimate moment between a mother and child. His many visits to the French countryside would have inspired him to paint Bretonne avec sa petite fille--both wearing the traditional dress of the region. The luminosity of Corot's warm palette and his masterful blending of the colors enhances the purity of the figures which appear in harmony with nature.
By the early 1850s, Camille Corot's reputation as an artist was firmly established, having gained considerable recognition from his entries at the Paris Salons as well as the Universal Exhibition in 1855; both of which secured his position as one of the best known and respected painters of the Barbizon School.
As a result of his travels and his love of nature, landscapes constitute the main body of his artistic oeuvre. Yet, his passion for the natural world also extended to include an admiration for country peasants and local villagers. The 1850s and 1860s found Corot absorbed in intimate figure portraits which he would continue to paint late into his career. As Bazin comments, "The figure remains Corot's greatest achievement at the end of his life; this instilled in him an insatiable curiosity" (G. Bazin, Corot, Paris, 1942, pp. 58-59).
Corot did not exhibit many of these figure paintings at major exhibitions during his lifetime. Considering many of these works depicted his close friends and family, he regarded these as private momentos, and preferred to hide them away from public view. This secrecy prompted Germain Bazin to comment, "At the precise moment in which he [Corot] strikes a chord of harmony with the viewing public, he lets his emotions carry him away and feels the need to hide a living secret. There will always be in the life of a great artist like Corot, the famous "armoire secrète" (the secret cabinet), where he guards his most priceless masterpieces which he rarely ever shows" (Bazin, op. cit., pp. 58-59). Despite their concealment from public exhibition, there was a strong market for Corot's figure paintings and a select clientele was so eager to acquire them that by the end of this career, Corot had painted more than 300 figural works.
The present work, once part of the legendary Oscar Reinhart collection, is a superb example of Corot's mastery of this genre. Corot was a keen observer and sensitive chronicler of the human condition, and the present composition depicts an intimate moment between a mother and child. His many visits to the French countryside would have inspired him to paint Bretonne avec sa petite fille--both wearing the traditional dress of the region. The luminosity of Corot's warm palette and his masterful blending of the colors enhances the purity of the figures which appear in harmony with nature.