Title: Italian Landscape

Artist: Baptiste-Camille Corot

Italian Landscape About 1835 Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot French, Paris 1796–Ville-d'Avray 1875 Oil on canvas A mood of timeless serenity pervades this idealized Italian scene. Cows wade peacefully in the reflective waters, peasants dance happily in a field, and beyond a splendid umbrella pine in the distance stand the picturesque ruins of a classical temple, bathed in golden morning light. Corot exhibited this painting at the 1839 Paris Salon, where it served as a contrasting companion piece to the darker, moodier Landscape with Lake and Boatman (displayed nearby). The work is part of a long French tradition of landscape painting inspired by the Italian countryside, going back to Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain (examples of whose work can be seen in the East Pavilion).