Camille Jean-Bapt. Corot

Jean Baptiste Camille Corot (French, 1796-1875) Les danseurs de Castel-Gandolfo signed 'COROT' (lower left) oil on canvas 15½ x 21¾ in. (39.4 x 55.3 cm.) Painted circa 1855-1860. Marmontel; his sale, Paris, Drouot, 11-14 May 1868, lot 3 (Ffr. 1,500). Acquired at the above sale by M. Le Mire, Rouen. Anna Deere Wiman, Switzerland. with Galerie Koller, Zurich. Acquired from the above in 1986 by the father of the present owner. PROPERTY FROM A SWISS PRIVATE COLLECTION A. Robaut, L'oeuvre de Corot - catalogue raisonné et illustré, Paris, 1905, vol. II, pp. 362-363, no. 1123 (illustrated). Paris, École des Beaux-Arts, Exposition de l'oeuvre de Corot, 1875, No. 104. This trademark composition by Corot is one of the earliest in a large series of poetic Italianate landscapes depicting dancers. Often featuring a famous Italian landmark, these works have become known in the artist's oeuvre as "souvenirs" or reminiscences of his three journeys to Italy, which were to inform so much of his later work. Here the artist has depicted a group of bacchanalian dancers or nymphs against the shores of Lake Albano. The papal retreat of Castel Gandolfo is visible in the background. The leitmotif of a screen of trees, through which a lake and a town are glimpsed recurs in numerous works. Corot's aim is not topographical accuracy, but rather to evoke an ethereal image which interprets an Arcadian landscape -- in the tradition of Claude and Poussin -- through the prism of a new pictorial idiom. The overarching effect is one of softness, achieved through feathered brushstrokes and highly suffused light, the distant architectural motifs merely hinting at a specific culture. Corot most famously returned to this subject in 1868, with his Souvenir of Castel Gandolfo, today in the Louvre, Paris (fig. 1). The dancers have been replaced by pipe-playing shepherd, but the light and spatial composition are almost identical, conjuring up a similar pastoral dreamworld.

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (French, 1796-1875) Douai, glacis des fortifications, près la porte Notre-Dame signed 'Corot' (lower right) oil on canvas 13 3/4 x 10 1/2in (35 x 26.5cm) Executed in 1854. PROVENANCE: André Diot, 1867; Gustave Tempelaere, Paris, 1878; Jules Clarétie, Paris, 1880; His Sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, May 8, 1914; Berkowitz, Paris, until 1948 (acquired from the above); Madelon Foundation, Sydney; Sale, Christie's, New York, 2 May, 2001, lot 111; Thomas Colville Fine Art, Llc., New York (acquired from the above); Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2004. EXHIBITED: Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1982 LITERATURE: Alfred Robaut, L'Oeuvre de Corot, Catalogue raisonné et illustré , Paris, 1965, Vol. II, p. 256, No. 778, (illustrated; with a sketch by Alfred Robaut) In the late summer of 1854, Corot was traveling through Holland with the painter Constant Dutilleux, who was originally from Douais. After ten days of visiting and sketching various Dutch cities, Dutilleux left Rotterdam on September 7th and returned to Douais, where he was joined by Corot a week later. It is here that Corot executed the present painting, showing his friend seated at his easel.

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (French, 1796-1875) Paysage aux bouleaux argentés signed 'COROT' (lower left) oil on canvas 10¼ x 7 in. (26 x 17.7 cm.) Painted circa 1860-65 with Galerie Georges Petit, Paris. K. H. Allan, Ecosse. with Hammer Galleries, New York. Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 13 May 1955, lot 128. THE PROPERTY OF A LADY We are grateful to Martin Dieterle and Claire Lebeau for confirming the authenticity of this painting, which will be included in their forthcoming sixth supplement to the Corot catalogue raisonné.

Prints Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (French, 1796-1875) Dans les dunes, souvenir du Bois de la Haye (D. 9), 1869 Etching on laid paper, signed in the plate, with margins, in good condition aside from light- and backboard staining, foxing, surface soiling, framed. 5 1/8 x 7 3/4in sheet 6 5/8 x 8 3/4in

JEAN-BAPTISTE-CAMILLE COROT Souvenir du Bas-Bréau. Cliché-verre on thin cream wove paper, 1858. 214x182 mm; 8 3/8x7 1/8 inches, full margins. An early printing of this extremely scarce work; we have found only 5 other impressions at auction in the past 25 years. Delteil 73; Melot 73. Estimate $1,500-2,500