Desert landscape

Executed during the winter of 1878-9 when the artist was in Egypt, this sketch predates Corbet's trip to Italy in 1880, where he was to spend three years painting with Giovanni Costa. Costa founded a school of artists later known as The Etruscans. The picture is an exploration of light and shade painted in bold, confident strokes. The horizontal landscape subject, with strong panoramic lines, was later to become a defining feature of the Etruscan school.