Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Giclée Fine Art Prints 2 of 3

Eugène Delacroix said of Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1875), "He was a rare genius, the father of modern landscape."

Corot was initiated into the art by the landscape painters Achille Etna Michallon and Jean Victor Bertin. In 1825, the artist went to Italy for three years. There he created numerous studies in life, which he would later recreate in large compositions that radiated serenity and harmony, to present at the Salon.

In search of the most varied views, he was a perpetual traveller - he crossed France, toured Switzerland and the Netherlands, and visited London. In winter, in his studio, he works on colour and conveys the elusive light of morning. For thirty years he lived in seclusion, in almost complete anonymity, and remained misunderstood by the public. He will see Italy twice more. From 1835 he regularly participated in the Salon with landscapes painted in the studio, enlivened by biblical or mythological scenes. His palette changed - the silver-grey range became increasingly predominant. Gradually, the artist is captivated by the light of the North. Lovers of the fine arts are attracted to these landscapes, imbued with melancholy, and do them justice. In the canvas entitled "Souvenir of Mortefontaine", miniature silhouettes of nymphs and maidens dance in the forest. Corot was not only a superb landscape painter. He also excelled in genre painting, portraiture and the nude body. Large female figures are present throughout his oeuvre - the crowning glory being Woman with the Pearl (1869).