Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 'The Marsh at Arleux', 1871
About the work
Overview
This sketch was painted at Arleux-du-Nord, to the south of Douai in north-east France. Corot’s friend and fellow-artist Alfred Robaut, who lived in Douai, had persuaded him to leave Paris in April 1871 to escape the Commune following France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian war. Corot spent the spring and summer working in the area, which is notable for the marshes lying along the Scarpe and Sensée rivers. He was particularly inspired by the marshes along the Sensée at Arleux.
This sketch was probably painted rapidly in the open air and may be unfinished. The paint is thin, and the weave of the canvas shows throughout. In the foreground Corot used the handle end of his brush to scratch out forms in the paint, including horizontal and vertical lines and circular forms. While they are extremely cursory they possibly represent a boat, nets and fishing poles.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Marsh at Arleux
- Artist
- Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
- Artist dates
- 1796 - 1875
- Date made
- 1871
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 27.9 × 57.2 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bequeathed by Mrs Edwin Edwards, 1907
- Inventory number
- NG2135
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
In Corot’s studio sale, Paris, 26 May to 9 June 1875, lot 470 (‘Marais d’Arleux‐du‐Nord, un matin temps gris’), where it was bought by Henri Fantin‐Latour (1836–1904) for 160 francs; probably sold or presented by Fantin‐Latour to lawyer and artist Edwin Edwards (1823–1879) and his wife, Ruth (née Escombe, about 1833–1907). He met Edwards in 1861 and stayed with the couple several times at their home in Sunbury, Surrey. The relationship subsequently changed from a friendship to a more businesslike arrangement, with the Edwards acting as agents for Fantin‐Latour in England. When Edwin died the artist severed all business connections with his wife. Bequeathed by Mrs Elizabeth Ruth Edwards, 1907; for a time at the Tate Gallery (first recorded as being there in 1920); transferred to the National Gallery 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
-
2009Corot to Monet: A Fresh Look at Landscape from the CollectionThe National Gallery (London)8 July 2009 - 20 September 2009
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2013Corot in the Light of the NorthMusée de la Chartreuse5 October 2013 - 6 January 2014Musée des Beaux-Arts (Carcassonne)21 February 2014 - 21 May 2014
Bibliography
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1905A. Robaut, L'oeuvre de Corot: Catalogue raisonné et illustré, Paris 1905
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1908'The French School in the National Gallery', The Burlington Magazine, XIII/66, 1908, pp. 327-44
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1957Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1957
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1970Davies, Martin, and Cecil Gould, National Gallery Catalogues: French School: Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists etc., London 1970
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1979National Gallery, 'Pictures Cleaned and Restored in the Conservation Department of the National Gallery, January 1979 - February 1980', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, IV, 1980
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2013M.P. Botte et al., Corot dans la lumière du nord (exh. cat. Musée de la Chartreuse de Douai; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Carcasonne) Milan 2013
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2019Herring, 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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A woman wearing a long dark dress and yellow straw hat stands next to a cow on a path which draws the viewer into the landscape. Long shadows are cast by the bushes and tree on the left. In the background the lavender blue hills of the Jura descend from left to right. The view is near Dardagny,...
It is the end of the day, and a fishing boat heads into a secluded inlet, guided by a lone figure. To the right is a wooded promontory, the branches of the trees stretching out over the water. The sun’s last rays are caught by one or two of the clouds, but the overall light is pearly, and the blu...
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A supremely poised young woman is painted in three-quarter view. Her right hand curls around the handle of a mirror, while she appears to be caressing a lock of hair with her left. She wears a white blouse under a black velvet bodice and yellow detachable sleeves over her arms. This study is one...
This view belongs to the group of pictures that Corot painted during his stay in north-east France in 1871. The site depicted is probably the Canal de la Sensée between Arleux and Palluel. Corot first painted the view in May 1871, basing his picture on a study by his friend Alfred Robaut, with wh...
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In this small, intimate portrait, the rider, turning to look at the viewer, seems to have been caught unawares. He is Monsieur Joseph Pivot, who was about 50 at the time and a neighbour of Corot in Ville-d’Avray. He frequently rode his horse in a nearby wood where Corot also went to paint, and on...
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Throughout his life Corot painted images of women dressed in particular costume, often folk dress. They cannot be described as portraits, and the sitters are often unknown. In this example, the woman wears a white dress of perhaps muslin or organza decorated with pink satin ribbons. In her left h...
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The marshy pond in the left foreground blends into land rising to a small hill on the right, where two buildings are nestled behind a row of tall trees. In 1867 Corot made the first of many visits to Coubron, which lies to the east of Paris. During a visit in April 1873 he made a sketch in the n...
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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...
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This is the third in a series of four panels illustrating the different times of day that Corot painted for his friend, fellow artist Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps. It is evening and colours are at their richest. Nearest to us, a mysterious figure is wearing what appears to be a dark brown monk’s hab...
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