Jean-Baptiste-Camille COROT
French 1796-1875
The bent tree (morning) (Ville d'Avray, Bouleau Pond)
c. 1855-60
oil on canvas
44.3 x 58.5 cm
Felton Bequest 1907
338-2

Corot spent most of his life at his home in Ville D'Avray. Although he travelled widely it is the wooded landscape surrounding Bouleau Pond which had the most profound impact on his art. He painted many views of that area and even his contemporary critics noted that many of his works bearing the title of another locale mysteriously appear similar to Ville D'Avray.

Corot's acute observation and meticulous interpretation of the natural world places him at the forefront of the realist school of French landscape artists. This work is painted quite loosely and sketchily and may have been mainly executed out of doors.

There is another version in the National Gallery, London, which is larger, more highly detailed and has a more worked-on appearance. Although Corot exhibited and sold many of his tighter compositions it is his freer preparatory works which had a lasting influence on later artists.