Provenance
Probably Alfred Sensier (died 1877), Paris [according to Robaut 1905]. Charles (?) Edwards, Paris, by 1878 [lent to Paris 1878]; sold Hôtel Drouot, Paris, February 24, 1881, lot 8, as Eurydice for 6,510 francs to Durand-Ruel, possibly on behalf of Tavernier [price and buyer according to an annotated copy of the sale catalogue in the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague]; Tavernier Collection, Paris [according to Robaut 1905, who states that it was acquired at the Edwards sale]. Henry Field (died 1890), Chicago; his widow Mrs. Florence Lathrop Field; given to the Art Institute, 1894.
Accession Number
878
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
55.9 × 41.3 cm (22 × 16 1/4 in.); Framed: 87 × 73.7 × 11.5 cm (34 1/4 × 29 × 4 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Henry Field Memorial Collection
Background & Context
Background Story
Jean Baptiste Camille Corot's Wounded Eurydice (1868-70) is an oil on canvas depicting the nymph Eurydice, wife of Orpheus, wounded and dying. In classical mythology, Eurydice was bitten by a snake and died, and Orpheus descended into the underworld to bring her back. Corot's treatment of the subject is characteristically subdued and poetic: the figure of Eurydice is shown in a landscape, her wound suggested rather than displayed, the mood one of quiet tragedy rather than dramatic violence. The palette is soft and harmonious, with the greens and browns of the landscape dominating the composition. Corot was known primarily as a landscape painter, and even in this mythological subject, the landscape setting plays a central role. The figure of Eurydice is integrated into the natural world, her fate inseparable from the beauty and the dangers of the landscape. This painting belongs to the late period of Corot's career, when his style had achieved its fullest refinement and his reputation was at its peak.
Cultural Impact
Corot's mythological paintings demonstrate the range of his art beyond pure landscape, showing his ability to integrate the human figure into his poetic vision of nature.
Why It Matters
This painting of the wounded Eurydice captures the tragedy of the myth with Corot's characteristic restraint and poetry, the figure of the dying nymph integrated into a landscape of quiet, melancholy beauty.
