Description
This scene is imbued with a sense of quiet and stillness, broken only by the lone female bather pulling herself out of the water by a branch. Although the setting is a real hillside lake he visited in northern Italy, Camille Corot painted the view from memory, having returned to Paris in 1843 from the last of three trips to the region. Thus, rather than presenting an accurate record of the location, the painting is a picturesque souvenir, with the topography transformed as much by the artist’s silvery-gray and deep-green palette as by his fond reminiscences.
Provenance
M. L. by 1867 [lent to Paris 1867]. Albert Hecht (died 1889), Paris, by 1875 [lent to Paris 1875]. William Schaus, New York, by 1884 [this and the following according to 1912 Morgan sale catalogue, below]; sold to Mary J. Morgan (died 1885); her estate sale, American Art Association, New York, March 3–5, 1886, lot 216, for $14,000 to Thomas Newcomb [price and buyer according to an annotated copy of the sale catalogue in the William Randolph Hearst Archive, Long Island University]; Thomas Newcomb (died 1901), New York; his widow, Alice Newcomb, New York; her estate sale, The American Art Galleries, New York, January 24, 1912, no. 26, as Lake Nemi for $85,000 to W. W. Seaman as agent, possibly on behalf of Cyrus Hall McCormick Jr. [price and buyer as agent according to New York Times 1912]. Cyrus Hall McCormick Jr. (died 1936), Chicago, by 1923 [according to loan documentation, Art Institute Archives]; on intermittent loan to the Art Institute, from 1923 [according to documentation cited above]; his estate; portion of the estate that passed to his son, Cyrus McCormick III (died 1970), Chicago, October 15, 1941 [according to a letter from Judson F. Stone to McCormick Properties Investments dated October 15, 1941, copy in curatorial file]; his second wife Florence Nicks Sittenham Davey McCormick (died 1979), New York; bequeathed to the Art Institute, 1979.
Accession Number
59002
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
98.4 × 134.3 cm (38 3/4 × 52 7/8 in.); Framed: 120.7 × 156.9 × 8.9 cm (47 1/2 × 61 3/4 × 3 1/2 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Credit Line
Bequest of Florence S. McCormick
Background & Context
Background Story
Jean Baptiste Camille Corot's Souvenir of the Environs of Lake Nemi (1865) is an oil on canvas that captures the beauty of the Italian landscape. Corot (1796-1875) was one of the most important landscape painters of the 19th century, a bridge between the Neoclassical tradition of Claude Lorrain and the modern landscape painting of the Impressionists. Lake Nemi, in the volcanic crater south of Rome, was a popular subject for artists, its tranquil waters and surrounding forests offering a vision of ideal beauty. Corot's treatment is characteristic of his mature style: the composition is balanced and harmonious, the palette is subdued and atmospheric, the brushwork is soft and feathery. The title Souvenir indicates that the painting was not executed on the spot but composed in the studio from sketches and memories, a practice that allowed Corot to distill the essence of a place into a vision of ideal beauty. This painting belongs to the period of Corot's fullest maturity, when his influence on the younger generation of painters was at its height.
Cultural Impact
Corot was a pivotal figure in the development of modern landscape painting, influencing the Barbizon School, the Impressionists, and generations of artists who followed.
Why It Matters
This souvenir of Lake Nemi captures the tranquil beauty of the Italian landscape, Corot's soft handling and subdued palette creating a vision of nature that is both specific and idealized.
