Oil on canvas, 'Morning: Landscape with Two Cows and a Figure', Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, France, ca. 1855-1860

A female figure looking after two cows, one black and one brown, is standing in a marshy pasture. In the middle distance bushes and trees reach from the right to the centre of the composition. A village and tower bell appear in the horizon.

Bequeathed by Constantine Alexander Ionides

The painting was purchased by Constantine Alexander Ionides before 1881, for the price of £80 (cf. 'Effet de Matin' by Corot in Ionides' manuscript inventory, private collection). He possibly acquired it from the firm Durand-Ruel, who had sales rooms in London between 1870 and 1876. CAI 66 was bequeathed to the Museum by Ionides in 1900.

Historical significance: This painting could not be identified with any of the listed works in the only catalogue raisonné of the artist (Robaut, 1905) but it appears to be is a fine example of Corot's later period. CAI.66 shows two cows looked after by a female figure in the foreground, the scene is framed by tall trees and the silhouette of a village with a tower bell appears in the horizon.
This painting is a fine example of Corot's mastery of rendering different effects of light. Here particularly notable is the diffuse bright albeit weak light of the early morning. The cool palette is quite typical of his late period when he moved away from the warm representation of the Italian countryside to focus on landscape painting only vaguely reminiscent of places.
According to an inscription on the stretcher in the back, this painting belonged to the famous art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel (1831-1922) whom Corot met.
Corot was famous for his direct observation of nature he nevertheless often re-elaborated in his studio. This artistic practice derived from his master's dictum, Michallon, to paint out of doors directly from the motif but was also inspired by the landscapes of Claude Lorrain (1604-1682) and 17th-century Dutch masters.
Another example of this late period's output is CAI.65 which shows a landscape at twilight.

Although France and England became the new centres of landscape art in the 18th century, the Italian and Dutch traditions retained their authority. However the Arcadian vision of Italy increasingly tended towards a more precise observation of nature. Some of the most exciting developments took place in Venice, in the soft scenes of Francesco Zuccarelli (1702-1788), inspired by Claude Lorrain (1604-1682), and the fresh, spontaneous landscapes of Marco Ricci (1676-1730). Wealthy patrons, often accompanied by artists, on The Grand Tour, created a market for veduta and capriccio paintings, respectively topographical and fantasist landscape paintings. Landscape conventions were further enriched by foreign artists working in Italy, responding both to the beauty of Italian light and scenery celebrated by the Latin poets and vividly captured in the most popular landscapes of Claude Lorrain, Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) and Gaspard Dughet (1615-1675).

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875) was born in Paris and only at the age of 26 devoted himself to painting. He studied with two pupils of Pierre-Henri Valenciennes (1750-1819), first with Achille Etna Michallon (1796-1822) and later with Jean-Victor Bertin (1767-1842). He spent three years in Italy and specialised in landscape paintings. He enjoyed quickly a great success but the turning-point of his career, however, came with the accession to power of Louis-Napoléon who praised his art with the consequence that collectors and dealers began to be interested in his work.

This painting is a fine example of Corot's late period when he painted landscapes only vaguely reminiscent of places. It masterly depicts the very early morning when the sunlight is still week but appears already bright and translucent. The cool palette and strong areas of shade are typical of Corot's late period when the difference between outdoor and studio work lessened.

CAI.66