| Corot was the leading French landscape
painter of the early century. He was born in 1796 in Paris and trained by the
Neo-classical painter Achille Michallon.
Corot was a frequent exhibitor at the Salon, contributing canvasses based on sketches made
directly from nature. He was influenced by oil sketcher made in Rome and himself often
visited Rome. In his later years Corot travelled widely in France and also visited
Holland, Switzerland and England. He experimented more frequently with portraits and
figure subjects.
In his personal life Corot was a man of simplicity and generosity, a benefactor to artists
in difficulty and a supporter to young painters who were not accepted by the Academy.
His later works, dominated by silvery woodland
scenes, were popular. He was a prolific artist and a number of his paintings were imitated
after his death in 1875 to cater to this market in poetic landscapes.
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