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Imitator of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 'A Peasant Woman', before 1913

About the work

Overview

In this pensive study, a woman is dressed in traditional Italian costume. Her distinctive headdress is a tovaglia, a piece of folded linen or other cloth worn flat on the head and covering the neck. With increased Italian migration to France from the middle of the nineteenth century, the subject of women wearing picturesque dress became popular among French artists, Corot included.

Although this painting entered the National Gallery’s collection as a work by Corot himself, it is now thought to be by an imitator. The restrained colours and thin application of paint contrast with Corot’s juxtapositions of bright colour in his own late portrayals of women. This work probably dates from the early years of the twentieth century, a period when the appeal of Corot’s late silvery landscapes was on the wane, and the demand for his late figure paintings was on the rise.

Key facts

Details

Full title
A Peasant Woman
Artist
Imitator of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
Artist dates
1796 - 1875
Date made
before 1913
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
31.8 × 29.2 cm
Inscription summary
Signed
Acquisition credit
Sir Hugh Lane Bequest, 1917, The National Gallery, London. In partnership with Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin.
Inventory number
NG3239
Location
On loan: Long Loan to The Hugh Lane (2019 - 2031), Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Dublin, Ireland
Collection
Main Collection

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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