Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 'Summer Morning', about 1855-60

Summer Morning

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

On loan: Long Loan to The Hugh Lane (2019 - 2031), Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Dublin, Ireland

About the work

Overview

The pond which takes up the foreground probably lies in the grounds of the tall building glimpsed at the extreme right, perhaps a mill or château. Beyond an open gate lies an unseen road or lane bordered by a hedge, and further in the distance stands a higher bank of trees. At the left, the woman herding the cow trails her stick along the path.

The scene is bathed in a soft, hazy light, the greens of the bushes and trees muted and silvery. The handling and low-keyed tonality are typical of Corot’s style from the 1850s onwards, when bright colour and crisp outlines were replaced by shimmering brushwork and pearly colouration.

In-depth

This unidentified scene is an early example of Corot’s mature work, when his colour became more restrained. A pond, its edges curving towards the bottom left and right corners, takes up the foreground. It probably lies in the grounds of the tall building glimpsed at the extreme right, perhaps a mill or château. A path leads from an open gate across the middle ground, along which a woman herds her cow, trailing her stick behind her. Beyond the gate lies an unseen road or lane bordered by a hedge, with trees beyond, and further in the distance stands a higher bank of trees. The scene is bathed in soft light, the tonality of the vegetation muted and silvery.

At this period Corot employed a wide variety of brushwork, seen here in the small touches of paint in the tree at the left and the long, fluid strokes of paint in the foreground. Also typical for the artist is the handling of the sky, which he generally painted at a late stage of a composition, bringing it down, as here, over the tops of the trees on the horizon. The woman and her cow are insubstantially painted, with the pale brown of the path passing over the front legs of the animal. Corot has used the handle end of his brush to scratch out the bars in the gate, a technique which he used regularly, and which can be also seen in the foreground of The Marsh at Arleux.

Key facts

Details

Full title: Summer Morning
Artist: Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
Artist dates: 1796 - 1875
Date made: about 1855-60
Medium and support: oil on canvas, mounted on wood
Dimensions: 22.9 × 34.3 cm
Inscription summary: Signed
Acquisition credit: Sir Hugh Lane Bequest, 1917, The National Gallery, London. In partnership with Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin.
Inventory number: NG3238
Location: On loan: Long Loan to The Hugh Lane (2019 - 2031), Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Dublin, Ireland
Collection: Main Collection

Provenance

According to Robaut 1905, NG 3238 was in the possession of the picture dealer M.F. Gérard in 1880 when it was drawn by him. However, in his manuscript notes he writes ‘chez F. Gérard en 1880 – je l’avais dessiné autrefois chez Kiewert(?)’ (‘With F. Gérard in 1880 – I had formerly drawn it at Kiewert’s’). Paul Kiewert (1818–1903) was a restorer who carried out a substantial amount of work for Corot, including lining Chartres Cathedral (1830). He was often associated with the dealer and colourman Paul Detrimont (1856–1943); Gérard is presumably Félix Gérard père (1835–1905), one of the sons of the dealer Emile Gérard, who operated at 16 rue Lafayette. Two paintings by Corot were included in his sale at Drouot, 25 February 1896; neither of them can be identified as being NG 3238; in the collection of James Staats Forbes (1823–1904); in the collection of Sir Hugh Lane (1875–1915) in 1906 or 1907 (Bodkin states that Lane bought it from the executors of Forbes in 1906 or 1907 for £350 but in fact he must have bought it in 1906 if he lent it to Belfast in that year); Lane Bequest 1917; in 1920 at the Tate Gallery; transferred in 1956.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Sarah Herring, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Nineteenth Century French Paintings’, vol. 1, ‘The Barbizon School’, London 2019; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Exhibition history

2006

Long Loan to The Hugh Lane (2006 - 2019)

Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane

31 December 2006 - 18 April 2021
2021

Long Loan to The Hugh Lane (2019 - 2031)

Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane

24 February 2021 - 23 February 2031

Bibliography

1905

A. Robaut, L'oeuvre de Corot: Catalogue raisonné et illustré, Paris 1905
1932

T. Bodkin, Hugh Lane and his Pictures, Dublin 1932
1957

Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1957
1970

Davies, Martin, and Cecil Gould, National Gallery Catalogues: French School: Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists etc., London 1970
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2019

Herring, Sarah, National Gallery Catalogues: The Nineteenth Century French Paintings, 1, The Barbizon School, London 2019

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.

Images

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