Unknown_Corot-2012

26 . The Ford or The Ford under the Large Tree , c. 1864

Charcoal on paper 7 1 ⁄ 8 × 11 3 ⁄ 8 Signed lower left

inches ( 18 × 29 cm)

provenance Collection Armand Doria; Jill Newhouse Gallery ( 2009 ).

exhi b i t ions Berne, Kunstmuseum, Corot , January 23– March 13 , 1960 , no. 134 .

Private Collection

Both the composition and handling of this drawing are related to one of the most successful paintings of Corot’s career, the Souvenir de Mortefontaine of 1864 (Musée du Louvre, Paris). The painting, which appeared at the 1864 Salon, was unusually well received by critics and the public and was purchased by Napoleon III. In the late 1860 s, Corot often borrowed and adapted recognizable aspects of this composition, particularly the water reflections and bending tree, in many smaller paintings intended for private sale. The best known of these is the Batelier de Mortefontaine in the Frick Collection. The present sheet is a rare example of a finished drawing which adapts and reconfigures aspects of the Mortefontaine composition. The rich tonal range of blacks and variety of charcoal lines and marks exemplifies Corot’s skill in this medium at the end of his career.

Batelier de Mortefontaine, c. 1865–1870 , Frick Collection, New York

Souvenir de Mortefontaine , 1864 , Musée du Louvre, Paris