Live Auction 22297Remastered: Old Masters from the Collection of J.E. Safra - Selling Without Reserve
JEAN-BAPTISTE-CAMILLE COROT (PARIS 1796-1875)
Lot 71

JEAN-BAPTISTE-CAMILLE COROT (PARIS 1796-1875)

Fontainebleau-le château vu de la pièce d'eau

Closed25 January 2023

Price Realised

USD 81,900

Considering selling a similar item?

Discover its value with a complimentary estimate from our specialists.

More Information

Conditions of Sale
How to sell

JEAN-BAPTISTE-CAMILLE COROT (PARIS 1796-1875)
Fontainebleau-le château vu de la pièce d'eau
signed 'COROT' (lower left)
oil on canvas
9 1/2 x 15 3/8 in. (24.1 x 39.1 cm.)
Painted circa 1850-55.

André-Julien Prévost, circa 1873.
Salomon Benedict Goldschmidt (1818-1906), Frankfurt am Main.
His sale, Galeries Georges Petit, Paris, 17 May 1888, lot 2, as Le Château de Fontainebleau.
M. Fauré-Lepage, acquired at the above sale.
Achille Fould.
His sale; Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 25 May 1894, lot 1, as L'etang des Carpes à Fontainebleau.
with Arnold & Tripp, Paris.
Jean Joseph Paul Rattier (1819-1890), Paris.
with Leicester Gallery, London, 1896.
Charles Jourdier (1839-1906), Paris.
with Arnold & Tripp, Paris.
with Obach & Co., London, acquired directly from the above, 17 April 1899.
James Staats Forbes (1823-1904), London, by 1904.
with Leicester Gallery, London, acquired directly from the above, by April 1906.
Douglas W. Freshfield (1845-1934), London, acquired directly from the above, until at least 1924.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 23 March 1962, lot 162, as A View of the Lake, Fontainebleau.
Tony Mayer (1902-1997), Paris, 1957.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 23 March 1962, lot 162, as A View of the Lake, Fontainebleau.
Katz, acquired at the above sale.
with Hammer Gallery, New York, by 1987.
Arnold S. Gumowitz (b. circa 1929) and Anne Gumowitz (1931-2017), New York, by 1991.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 27 May 1992, lot 144.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.

Specialist note


Dating from the mid 1850s, the present work depicts the Château de Fontainebleau seen from the south looking across the fishponds toward the Cour de la Fontaine and the Galerie François- Ier. To the right of the composition sits the tiny octagonal Pavillon des Conférences which is supported on a stone foundation in the middle of the pond. While Corot has accurately captured the architectural essence of the Château, the emphasis is not on the descriptive details of the various buildings, but rather an impression of the buildings defined through their reflections in the water. Corot has blurred the actual buildings through his masterful understanding of the play of light on water, and it is through the two mirror renditions of the buildings of this famous landmark that the viewer comes to experience the magical ambiance of the Château and its surrounds.