The Pond at the Entrance of the Woods

c. 1860–75

Jean Baptiste Camille Corot

(French, 1796–1875)

Culture

France, 19th century

Medium

oil on fabric

Measurements

Unframed: 46 x 61 cm (18 1/8 x 24 in.)

Credit Line

Bequest of William G. Mather 1951.330

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

This painting's first recorded owner was the Dowager Duchess of Newcastle, née Henrietta-Adela Hope, who became a widow of the sixth duke Henry Pelham Alexander in 1879.

Description

This scene of a pond bordered by large, leafy trees echoes Corot's well-known views of Ville-d'Avray, while the vaporous light and atmospheric effects within a restricted palette resemble those of the artist's late style of the 1860s and 1870s. The small forms of the peasant and white goat are also typical of Corot's late imagery. This is one of many views of a large pond at Ville-d'Avray, a small commune on the western suburbs of Paris, where Corot inherited a rural property from his parents.