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Canal in Picardy

Canal in Picardy

Artist: Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (French, 1796-1875)
Date: about 1865-1871
Dimensions:
18 3/8 × 24 1/4 in. (46.7 × 61.6 cm)
Frame: 77.5 × 92.1 × 10.8 cm (30 1/2 × 36 1/4 × 4 1/4 in.)
Medium: oil on canvas
Place of Origin: France
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Gift of Arthur J. Secor
Object number: 1922.20
Label Text:French painter Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot’s The Canal in Picardy depicts a wistful, idyllic scene of springtime in the northern French region of Picardy. It is probably located near the towns of Douai and Arras, an area interlaced by canals which Corot often visited between 1865 and 1871. The spot suited his penchant for creating hazy and subdued landscapes in a poetic style.

In the midst of the diffuse lighting and “soft-focus” shapes of the countryside, three rural figures go about their work in the delicate shade of three tall birch trees. The male figure on the far left holds perhaps a farm implement, while the female figure in the center crouches down at the edge of the canal as another figure looks on. Corot was the leading French landscape painter of his time.

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In Collection(s)