PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF HENRY LUCE III, THENCE BY DESCENT TO THE CONSIGNORS

Jean Baptiste Camille Corot (Paris 1796-1875)

Jeune baigneuse couchée sur l'herbe au bord d'un étang

Details

Jean Baptiste Camille Corot (Paris 1796-1875)
Jeune baigneuse couchée sur l'herbe au bord d'un étang
signed 'COROT' (lower right)
oil on canvas
16 x 23½ in. (40.6 x 60 cm.)
Painted circa 1868-1870.

Provenance

M. Eugene Ducasse and Larochenoire Collections.
M. Edwards.
sold to M. Tavernier, 24 February, 1881 (FF5,000).
Collection Lutz.
M. Henri Garnier, by 1886.

Literature

A. Robaut, L'oeuvre de Corot, catalogue raisonné et illustré, Paris, 1965, vol. III, p. 116, no. 1568.

Exhibited

Paris, Exposition Durand-Ruel, 1878, no. 63.
London, Marlborough Fine Art Limited, November-December 1963, no. 42. London, Marlborough Fine Art Limited, June-July 1965, no. 7.

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Lot Essay

As early as 1837, Corot began experimenting with painting reclining nudes in pastoral landscapes. Although Corot is best known for his soft Arcadian landscapes, the nude was of central importance to him. Later in life, he advised his students, 'The study of the nude, you see, is the best lesson that a landscape painter can have. If someone knows how, without any tricks, to get down to a figure, he is able to make a landscape; otherwise he can never do it' (Quoted in G. Tinterow et. al., Corot, New York, 1996, p. 164).

We are grateful to Claire Lebeau and Martin Dieterle for confirming the authenticity of this painting.

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