Accession Number
1959/1.162

Title
Landscape Studies, Italy

Artist(s)
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

Object Creation Date
circa 1826-1828

Medium & Support
graphite on white wove paper

Dimensions
8 3/16 in x 12 3/4 in (20.8 cm x 32.38 cm);18 1/8 in x 22 1/8 in (46.04 cm x 56.2 cm)

Credit Line
Museum Purchase

Label copy
March 28, 2009
In 1825, Corot made the first of three trips to Italy. The limpid clarity of the light in Italy and the play of that light across the features of ancient monuments were the subject of a number of paintings he executed in Rome. Even when sketching in the surrounding countryside, rendering the quality of light remained a critical feature of Corot’s work, as can be seen in this fresh pencil drawing. Instead of focusing on the underlying geometry of Roman ruins, he employs shadow to sculpt the uneven terrain. Corot’s lyrical landscapes had a profound effect on the evolution of landscape painting in France in the nineteenth century.

Subject matter
Landscape pencil sketch of a path along a rocky terrain with trees or some structure in distance.

Physical Description
The VENTE COROT mark in the lower left corner is placed within a path that runs from that corner diagonally up towards the right where it is blocked from view by the rocky terrain. There is a scribbling that extends vertically from the land in the center of the image and the darkest area is to the right of that. The left side of the image has much less variance in lines and weights.

Primary Object Classification
Drawing

Primary Object Type
study

Collection Area
Western

Rights
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Keywords
landscapes (representations)
sketches