Camille Corot

P. 159 x 235 mm; S. 340 x 527 mm

Paysage d'Italie Robaut 3129, Delteil 7, Melot 7 etching, 1866, on medium-heavy ivory laid paper with the Aquafortistes watermark, the rare 1st state (of 4)*, a very fine and rich impression before letters, with full margins, before the first edition of the Société des Aquafortistes in 1866, in excellent condition

Provenance: the Henri M. Petiet collection, with the HMP wetstamp on the reverse (not cited in Lugt)

This masterful etching contains all of Corot's later artistic predilections, including the dark foreground enlivened by minuscule figures, with a sombre copse of trees that serves to frame the city afar, all set against a vibrant sky.

It is not known why Corot renounced his participation in the Société des Aquafortistes, and this, his last contribution, although less dramatic, is thus especially poignant.

* According to Melot, there were only "a few proofs" ("quelques épreuves") pulled of this first state.