Jean-Baptiste Camille CorotJean-Baptiste Camille CorotAn extraordinarily innovative printmaker who mastered a variety of graphic media (etching, lithography, and cliché-verre or glass printing), Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796 - 1875) broke away from the dominant neo-classical and romantic traditions of the period, evolving toward a more naturalistic approach, while retaining a certain reserved, yet lyrical verve.
As the guiding force behind the Barbizon school beginning in the 1830s, and a noteworthy precursor of impressionism, he pioneered the idea of working out-of-doors, rendering atmosphere, while his youthful travels across Italy (between 1825 and 1828, again in 1834, and a third visit in 1843) gave him a taste for airy light as well as poetic effect: his freely handled landscapes, ever enlivened with tiny figures, almost seem to breathe.
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Environs de RomeEnvirons of RomeRobaut 3128, Delteil 6, Melot 6 etching, 1866, the rare 1st state (of 3), one of only a few proofs before letters Corot's formative studies in Italy would leave a permanent mark on his printmaking; years later, these reminiscences would again resurface, as in this remarkable large etching, his second contribution to the Société des Aquafortistes.
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Paysage d'ItalieLandscape in ItalyRobaut 3129, Delteil 7, Melot 7 etching, 1866, the rare 1st state (of 4), one of only a few proofs before letters A splendid example of Corot's reminiscences, this sombre piece, again with a distant city framed by dark trees, was his third and last contribution to the Société des Aquafortistes.
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Vénus coupant les Ailes de l'Amour (1ère planche)Venus cutting Cupid's Wings (1st plate)Robaut 3132, Delteil 10, Melot 10 etching, circa 1869-70, the 1st (and only) state, a very rare lifetime proof, with a dedication in pencil by A. Robaut This print (and the following) are among Corot's last etchings. According to Delteil, the plates were found by Corot in a drawer in 1872; Corot offered them to Alfred Robaut who, the following year, proceeded to have them bitten and printed in a series of 9 proofs, on various papers.
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Souvenir des Fortifications de DouaiRecollection of the Fortifications at DouaiRobaut 3134, Delteil 12, Melot 12 etching, circa 1869-70,
the 1st (and only) state, a very rare lifetime proof of this remarkable
late print, with a dedication in pencil by A. Robaut (cf. above)
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Le Cavalier dans les RoseauxThe Horseman in the ReedsRobaut 3145, Delteil 22, Melot 22 lithograph, 1871, the 1st state (of 2), an extremely rare, possibly unique, trial proof printed in grey, from the renowned Henri Delacroix collection Joining his friend Alfred Robaut in the spring of 1871, Corot's last visit to Douai yielded a series of remarkable lithographs, here a windswept view of the dunes on the North Sea near Boulogne-sur-Mer.
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Le Fort DétachéThe Outlying FortRobaut 3154, Delteil 32, Melot 32 lithograph, 1874, the only known state One of Corot's very last prints, this fine lithograph is again typical of the artist's broad and airy landscapes.
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