Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot was a French landscape painter who links the classical tradition to the freshness of Impressionism. Born in Paris in 1796, he painted carefully composed scenes of Italy and the French countryside, along with softer, silvery landscapes of trees and misty ponds that became his trademark. Those feathery, dreamlike views made him hugely popular in his lifetime.

He was known for real generosity, quietly supporting struggling fellow artists, and younger painters adored him. His small outdoor sketches, done quickly and directly from nature, look strikingly modern and fed straight into what the Impressionists would do next. Corot also painted thoughtful figure studies that were little seen in his day but are now much admired for their stillness and warmth.