Provenance
The artist [1796-1875]; (his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 26 May 1875, no. 134); purchased by (Hector Brame, Paris). Jules Paton, Paris;[1] (his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 24 April 1883, no. 35); purchased by (Bernheim-Jeune, Paris), in whose possession it remained until at least 1889.[2] Duz.[3] Van den Eynde.[4] (Durand-Ruel et Cie, Paris); sold 1892 to Peter A.B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania;[5] 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] Alfred Robaut, _L'oeuvre de Corot_, Paris, 1905: III: 112, no. 1558.
[2] Annotated copy of Paton sale catalogue in M. Knoedler library. Lent by Bernheim-Jeune to _Exposition centennale de l'art français, Exposition universelle_, Paris, 1889, no. 163.
[3] According to notes by Edith Standen, in NGA curatorial files.
[4] According to notes by Edith Standen, in NGA curatorial files.
[5] According to notes by Edith Standen, in NGA curatorial files, and repeated in the Widener collection catalogues of 1915 and 1923.
Corot's Studio: Woman Seated Before an Easel, a Mandolin in her Hand
c. 1868
Accession Number
1942.9.11
Medium
oil on wood
Dimensions
overall: 61.8 x 40 cm (24 5/16 x 15 3/4 in.) | framed: 78.4 x 56.5 cm (30 7/8 x 22 1/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Widener Collection
Tags
Painting Impressionist & Modern (1851–1900) Oil Painting French
Background & Context
Background Story
Corot's Studio: Woman Seated Before an Easel, a Mandolin in her Hand (c. 1868) offers a rare glimpse into the working environment of one of the 19th century's most revered landscape painters. The painting depicts a model seated in Corot's studio before an easel, holding a mandolin—a composition that combines genre painting with the documentary value of a studio interior. The mandolin, a recurring prop in Corot's figure paintings, connects this work to the Italian peasant subjects that had influenced his art since his first Roman sojourn in 1825-28. The year 1868 places this during Corot's late period, when his landscape style had reached its characteristic maturity—the silvery tonalities, the softly brushed foliage, and the poetic atmosphere that younger painters called le style Corot. The studio setting reveals the professional conditions that produced this style: Corot's working method combined outdoor oil sketches made on location with studio compositions developed from memory and imagination. The woman before the easel, whether a model or a student, represents the intimate relationship between the artist and his subjects that gave Corot's figure paintings their distinctive warmth. This painting also documents Corot's generosity: he kept his studio open to younger painters, and many artists who visited him described the warm, paternal atmosphere that this painting captures.
Cultural Impact
Corot's studio paintings influenced how the artist's working method was understood, revealing the connection between his landscape practice and his figure painting. The paintings influenced later artists who similarly depicted studio interiors as artistic subjects. The mandolin-wielding model influenced how Corot's figure subjects were interpreted, connecting them to the Italian tradition that had inspired his earliest work.
Why It Matters
This painting matters because it captures the environment where Corot's influential style was developed and taught—the studio where landscape memory and figure painting converged. The woman with the mandolin represents the artistic practice that produced some of the most influential landscape paintings of the 19th century, and Corot's depiction of his own working environment has a documentary value that complements the art-historical significance of his landscapes.
