Artwork
A View near Volterra
A View near Volterra is an oil painting by the Barbizon school artist Jean Baptiste Camille Corot. It dates from 1838 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower left: COROT. / 1838
About this work
Technique & Style
Executed in 1838, this landscape is an oil painting on canvas.
Executed in 1838, this landscape is an oil painting on canvas. The work measures 69.9 cm in height by 95.5 cm in width. While specific details regarding the artist's brushwork, surface condition, or underlying preparatory layers are not provided in the available records, the piece is formally classified as a landscape depicting trees.
The medium and support remain consistent with Corot's standard practice for outdoor studies and finished vistas from this period, utilizing traditional oil pigments applied to a woven textile ground.
History & Provenance
The work titled A View near Volterra was painted by Jean‑Baptiste‑Camille Corot in 1838 as an oil on canvas landscape. It remained in the collection of Baronne Thénard in Paris until her estate sold it at Hôtel Drouot on 19 November 1931 (lot 22, titled _Souvenir d'Italie_). The painting was then acquired by the dealer Paul Rosenberg & Cie., active in London, New York and Paris, and subsequently purchased by Chester Dale on 2 November 1932.
Dale bequeathed the canvas to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1963. The work’s creation is documented as dating to 1838, with dimensions of 69.9 × 95.5 cm.
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot's 1838 oil on canvas, A View near Volterra, is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The work entered the museum's holdings in 1963 as a bequest from Chester Dale, who originally purchased it from the gallery Paul Rosenberg et Cie. in November 1932. Prior to Dale's acquisition, the painting was sold at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris on November 19, 1931, from the estate of Baronne Thénard, where it was cataloged as Souvenir d'Italie. The National Gallery of Art currently lists the painting as part of its permanent landscape collection, documenting its dimensions as 69.9 cm in height and 95.5 cm in width.
No specific past exhibitions are detailed in the available records, though the work remains a key component of the gallery's Corot holdings.
Overview
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot's A View near Volterra, painted in 1838, is an oil on canvas landscape. This work exemplifies Corot's approach to natural scenes, presenting a tranquil vista of gentle hills under a soft sky. A solitary tree stands prominently within the composition, its form distinct against the illuminated fields. The painting captures a serene moment, reflecting the artist's preference for quiet, contemplative subjects over dramatic narratives.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a serene Italian landscape characterized by rolling hills beneath a diffused sky. A single, dark-leaved tree occupies a central position, sharply contrasting with the brighter fields around it. Sunlight filters through unseen clouds, casting uneven patches of light across the ground, which contributes to the overall sense of stillness. Corot consistently sought out such undramatic, peaceful settings, imbuing them with a sense of quiet observation.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (UK: KORR-oh, US: kə-ROH, kor-OH; French:; 16 July 1796 – 22 February 1875), or simply Camille Corot, was a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching.
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