Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot was a prominent French landscape and portrait painter who set a new standard for the landscape genre as an independently valuable art form. Born on July 16, 1796, Corot grew up in a village near L’Isle-Adam on the Oise river. His father was a prosperous draper, and his mother was a fashionable modiste. At the age of 26, Corot received financial freedom from his family to devote himself entirely to painting.
Corot produced over 3,000 works during his lifetime that inspired countless numbers of forgeries and copies. He employed a silvery palette of mauve, grey, and ochre to create mythological, biblical, and rustic scenes developed from his outdoor studies. His signature style prefigured Impressionism with its emphasis on mood and atmosphere.
As an artist in Paris during the Romantic era, Corot became heavily influenced by both classicism and romanticism in art movements. Employing classical techniques like tonal harmony while simultaneously incorporating light within harmonizing colors through romantic techniques allowed him to masterfully claim all aspects of each movement – this made him truly one of a kind in comparison with other artists.
Corot’s artistic impact is lasting through today; he established himself as an essential figure in landscape painting who simultaneously referenced the Neo-Classical tradition while anticipating the plein-air innovations of Impressionism.
All Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Artwork on Artchive
| Artwork Name | Year | Medium |
|---|---|---|
| Orpheus Leading Eurydice from the Underworld | 1861 | oil |
| Agostina | c. 1866 | Oil on Canvas |
| The Boatman of Mortefontaine | c. 1865-70 | Oil on Canvas |
