The Forest of Coubron

1872

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

Artist, French, 1796 - 1875

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

Attributed to

A person rides a horse away from us on a narrow dirt path curving through a forest dominated by golden yellow trees in this vertical landscape painting. A boulder about twice the width of the path is backlit where it sits just left of the lower center of the canvas. The path begins near the bottom right corner of the painting and curves back and to the right. The horse is white, and the rider wears dark brown pants and a hat, and a lighter brown shirt. Trees towering over the rider to either side of the curve nearly reach the top of the composition. The horizon comes less than a third of the way up the painting. Pearly white sky fills in the gap between the trees around the rider, and ivory-colored clouds frame an icy blue sky above. The scene is painted with textured and blended strokes, which gives the painting a soft look even though some of the brushstrokes are visible. The artist signed and dated the lower center of the canvas, though it is partially cut off: “COROT 1872.”

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Widener Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 96 x 77.8 cm (37 13/16 x 30 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1942.9.12

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

F. Stumpf; (his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 28 February 1873, no. 8, as Entrée du bois Coubron, par une mantinée de printemps);[1] Maurice Kann [1839-1906], Paris, until at least 1878.[2] (M. Knoedler & Co., London, New York, and Paris); sold 1892 to Peter A.B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania;[3] inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park; gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] Sales catalogue is entitled Collection de M. S***. However, Alfred Robaut, L'oeuvre de Corot, Paris, 1905: III:372, no. 2386, identifies Stumpf as the collector. This is most likely F. Stumpf, a friend of Corot and collector of Corot and other Barbizon painters.
[2] Annotated copy of 1873 sales catalogue in Frick Art Reference Library gives Kann as the purchaser; Robaut 1905 (see note 1) gives Kann as the owner in 1878.
[3] According to the 1931 Widener collection catalogue.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1885

  • Catalogue of Paintings Forming the Collection of P.A.B. Widener, Ashbourne, near Philadelphia. 2 vols. Paris, 1885-1900: 1(1885):13, repro.

1905

  • Robaut, Alfred, and Etienne Moreau-Nélaton. L'Oeuvre de Corot. Catalogue raisonné et illustré. 5 vols. Paris, 1905: 3:372, no. 2386, repro.

1906

  • Gensel, Walther. Corot und Troyon. Bielefeld, 1906: 46, repro.

1915

  • Roberts, William. Pictures in the Collection of P.A.B. Widener at Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania: British and Modern French Schools, Philadelphia, 1915: unpaginated, repro., as Le Retour au Logis.

1923

  • Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1923: unpaginated, repro., as Le Retour au Logis.

1931

  • Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1931: 204, repro., as Le Retour au Logis.

1948

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948 (reprinted 1959): 103, repro.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 30.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 23, repro.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 74, repro.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 437, no. 630, color repro.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 432, no. 618, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 94, repro.

2000

  • Eitner, Lorenz. French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I: Before Impressionism. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2000: 94-97, color repro.

Inscriptions

lower center: COROT 1872

Wikidata ID

Q20188750

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