Much of Camille Corot's art explores the various visual qualities of landscapes and their surroundings. Through his remarkably consistent subject matter, he has been able to explore all the different elements of how the landscape presents itself to us as humans. He invokes movement and rhythm in the lines of his tree branches and the feathered texture of his leaves while portraying a vast sense of depth via the atmospheric qualities of his backgrounds. However, his art did not always look like this; it was actually not until the 1850's that we see this pictorial quilt within his paintings. While the content of his paintings remained rather consistent throughout his lifetime, his art had previously implemented clear lines, distinctive shapes, and a harsher use of light.
But what caused such a drastic shift? Well, it is likely accredited to his growing friendship with the landscape photographers Adalbert Cuvelier and his son Eugène Cuvelier. Through these friendships and their photography, Corot learned about the tonal values and blurred motions found in images, and subsequently incorporated this knowledge into his paintings. More so, the compositions of Corot's pieces themselves are indicative of the rule-of-thirds, which is regularly seen in photographic compositions.
This curation displays Corot's paintings alongside the Cuvelier' photographs in a way that conveys just how much photography influenced Corot's later works.
Camille Corot, Banks of the Stream near the Corot Property, Ville d'Avray, ca. 1823, Oil on paper, laid down on wood, Thaw Collection, Jointly Owned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Morgan Library & Museum, Gift of Eugene V. Thaw, 2009, Accession Number: 2009.400.27
The painting depicts Corot's style near the beginning of his career through the bright greens, the solid, distinct shapes of his trees, and his rather flat, two-dimensional portrayal of the landscape. At the time of this painting, Corot was still under the guidance of the classical landscape artist and teacher, Jean-Victor Bertin, prior to his studies in Italy. The location in the painting, Ville d'Avray, is common to many of Corot's artworks, as it was near his home and a part of his family's property in France. It is through these repeated visits and paintings that the evolution of Corot's style and techniques are able to be accurately observed overtime.
Camille Corot, Ville-d'Avray, 1870, Oil on canvas, Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Bequest of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, 1887, Accession Number: 87.15.141
This painting revisits Ville d'Avray almost fifty years following Banks of the Stream near the Corot Property, Ville d'Avray where Corot explores nature in a different manner than his earlier style. In this piece, instead of harsh lines, distinct forms, and clear colors, Corot is focused on the pictorial quality of portraying movement through the curving lines of his trees, depth of space through atmospheric perspective, and a strong tonal sense through a monochromatic color scheme. This painting challenges the classic landscapes of his past and pushes forward into territory that would eventually become impressionism.
Eugène Cuvelier, [Fontainebleau Forest], early 1860s, Salted paper print from paper negative, Purchase, The Howard Gilman Foundation and Joyce and Robert Menschel Gifts, 1988, Accession Number: 1988.1031
This photograph from the French Fontainebleau Forest displays a misty path surrounded by great trees just barely holding onto the last leaves that they have left. The mesmerizing sense of light and tones that Eugène captures not only guide the viewer further into the woods, but invites them to point their gaze towards the sky. Eugène Cuvelier, residing locally to this forest, had the opportunity to meet and mentor various landscape, plein-air painters who often frequented this location for their craft. Eugène, through his father's friendship with Camille Corot, also became friends with Corot. It is through his photographs that the shift in Corot's style begins to make sense. Through the inherent tonal nature of photography, as well as the specific expertise that Eugène was able to offer Corot, the tones in Corot's Ville-d'Avray are accelerated far beyond the paintings of Corot's early style.
Camille Corot, A Woman Gathering Faggots at Ville-d'Avray, 1871-74, Oil on canvas, Mr. and Mrs. Isaac D. Fletcher Collection, Bequest of Isaac D. Fletcher, 1917, Accession Number: 17.120.225
This painting follows Corot's
Ville-d'Avray and offers a new composition to a very familiar subject matter. With the ground in focus and the tops of the trees leading into the background, appearing hazy, the influence of photography is revealed once more. Here, the rule-of-thirds—a practice commonly used in photography—is vertically executed with the sky and treetops completing the top third, the pond and the buildings in the distance filling the second third, and the woman kneeling beside the tree-trunks finishing the final third. This rule is also visible horizontally, as there is a third of the trees to the right, an opening above the lady as the second third, and another set of trees making up the final third to her left. This rule is used to invoke interest and to keep the viewer's eyes moving around the image rather than staying stagnant on one portion of the piece.
Adalbert Cuvelier, [Landscape, Arras], 1852, Salted paper print from paper negative, Gilman Collection, Purchase, Mrs. Walter Annenberg and The Annenberg Foundation Gift, 2005, Accession Number: 2005.100.436
This paper print displays Adalbert's love of landscapes and offers a comparison to that of his son's photography, who followed in his footsteps. Adalbert had a collaborative friendship with Corot, as he was actually the one to introduce Corot to glass negatives in photography. This photograph is yet another example of where Corot likely mastered his rule-of-thirds system found in
A Woman Gathering Faggots at Ville-d'Avray. Just as in Corot's painting, [
Landscape, Arras] uses the rule-of-thirds both vertically (the trees' canopy, the trunks and clearing, and the grassy ground) and horizontally (two sets of trees on either side of a creek).
Camille Corot, Study for "The Destruction of Sodom," 1843, Oil on canvas, Catharine Wolfe Collection, Wolfe Fund, 1984, Accession Number: 1984.75
This is Corot's small study for what would become his larger painting The Destruction of Sodom. He completed this soon before his style change. Although this is a historical painting, we still see some of the classic features of landscape painting. There are defined lines of the hills, along with distinct shapes of the leaves on the trees, and a bright blue sky. The composition is rather large and seems to be cut in half horizontally: on the left is the countryside and Lot and his family (not exempting Lot's wife having been turned into a pillar of salt), and on the right is a grove of trees with the entrance of the city in the background.
Camille Corot, The Burning of Sodom (formerly "The Destruction of Sodom"), 1843 and 1857, Oil on canvas, H.O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H.O. Havemeyer, 1929, Accession Number: 29.100.18
This painting is the final product of what was formerly "
The Destruction of Sodom." After having submitted the original painting to the Salon in 1844, and it not receiving great reviews, Corot revamped it in 1857, after his style shift, by cutting down the composition and darkening the light and colors. By comparing it to the
Study for "The Destruction of Sodom," the effects of photography on Corot's pieces are more easily realized. From a larger composition, lacking the rule-of-thirds, to a smaller composition placing an angel guiding Lot and his daughters on the left two-thirds, leaving behind Lot's wife as a salt pillar on the further right of the piece, the composition creates more visual interest for the viewer. The darker, more tonal colors and the more feathery, wispy leaves of the mostly barren landscape offer a more pictorial quality than his previous study.
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