Jean Baptiste Camille Corot

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot painted landscapes in soft, silvery greens and greys, with feathery trees, still water and a quiet, dreamlike light. Early in his career he worked outdoors in Italy, making crisp, sunlit oil studies of Rome. Later he painted the misty lyrical landscapes he called souvenirs, composed from memory in the studio.

He was born in Paris in 1796, trained with Achille Etna Michallon and Jean-Victor Bertin, and made his first trip to Italy from 1825 to 1828. He painted all over France too, from Chartres Cathedral to the forests around Fontainebleau. Souvenir de Mortefontaine, in the Louvre, is the classic example of his later manner. The Impressionists admired him enormously. Monet is reported to have said there was only one master, Corot.

The early Italian views, like Coliseum Seen Through the Archways, are the ones to look at for clear light and simple, solid shapes. He died in Paris in 1875.