Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

Biography

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot was born on July 16, 1796, in Paris on rue Dubac. He was a French painter, draftsman, engraver, and architectural draughtsman. Throughout his life, Corot worked in multiple genres including landscape, portraiture, nudes, marine scenes, genre painting, allegory, religious art, and historical painting. He is considered an outstanding landscape artist of the Romantic era and was closely linked culturally and artistically to the artists of the Barbizon School. Corot significantly influenced the development of Impressionism. His works are distinguished by their coloristic qualities based on subtle relationships of silvery-gray and pearly tones, known as "valeurs"—a concept he regarded as fundamental in painting. Among his well-known works are "Bridge at Narni" and "Souvenir of Mortefontaine." He left a substantial legacy that includes numerous sketches and studies, valued almost as highly as his finished paintings. Camille Corot died on February 22, 1875, in Paris on rue du Faubourg-Poissonnière.