L'île heureuse

The present work is a reduction of the painting of the same title currently housed in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; the prime version was painted by Corot to decorate the home of his fellow plein art painter Charles-Francois Daubigny in Auvers-sur-Oise. Of the five paintings that Corot undertook for the project, L'île heureuse is considered the best example. Following the Claudian tradition of representing an ideal landscape, rather than an exact depiction, the work is a beautiful example of the kind of Italianate landscape for which Corot was celebrated during his lifetime, with the peaceful lake, distant building, and beautifully lit copse of trees which appear in different configurations in many of Corot’s late souvenir paintings.

The present work was authenticated by Martin Dieterle prior to its sale in 1996 and is accompanied by a letter of authenticity dated 25 March 1996.