Reading Beneath the Trees (La Lecture sous les arbres)
1874
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1874
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Reading Beneath the Trees (La Lecture sous les arbres) is a 1874 ink by Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a quiet scene of two trees framing a stone wall and a small building in the distance. The branches are drawn with quick, sketchy lines, and the leaves are suggested with light shading. The ground is barely marked, leaving the focus on the trees and the faint outline of the structure behind them. The artist used loose, rough strokes to capture the trees’ natural shape instead of perfect details. This style makes the scene feel quick and alive, like a snapshot of a moment. Next, look up lithography to see how this print was made.
