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

Finely drawn in graphite, the present drawing depicts a location near Olevano, the small town east of Rome between Civitella and Subiaco. Between 1825 and 1827, Corot’s trips through the Roman countryside can be traced fairly easily. In the latter year, when he made this study of trees, the artist went twice to Olevano in April, then again during the Summer, at the end of July and early August (P. Galassi, Corot in Italy, New Haven and London, 1991, p. 133). A small, luminous oil representing La Serpentara, near Olevano in a private collection, shows a similar rocky slope (op. cit., p. 141, fig. 168) – part of the ‘active dialogue between drawing and painting’ discussed by Peter Galassi (op. cit., p. 174).